





























/' 

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MORNING AND EVENING 
EXERCISES, 



APRIL, MAY, JUNE. 



BY 



WILLIAM JAY 



" Thy word is everlasting truth ; 
How pure is every page ! 
That Holy Book shall guide our youth, 
And well support our age." 

"Watts. 

"The prophet that hath a dream, let hirn tell a dream; and he that hath my 
word, let him speak my word faithfully. "What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the 
Loud." Jeremiah. 



NEW-YORK: 

ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 285 BROADWAY. 

1854. 






ft 

Bertram S ' 
Msr^n lb s 1934 



Jofjrt a. ©rag, 

PRINTER AND STEREOT YPER, 
97 Cliff, cor Frankfort. 



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ADVERTISEMENT. 



This Advertisement is not in the nature of an 
apology. If the Work be good it needs none, if bad 
it deserves none. But it is to intimate the reasons of 
the Author's engaging so soon again in a similar 
Publication with the former.* They were, the pecu- 
liar acceptance "The Morning Exercises for the 
Closet" have met. with ; the many testimonies of their 
usefulness he has received ; and the various applica- 
tions addressed to him by Christians and Ministers 
exciting him to send forth a companion to them for 
the Evening. He is fully aware that u the impor- 
tunity of friends," so frequently urged by writers 
for their appearing before the Public, is a justifica 
tion perhaps never sufficient, and not always very 
true — Yet it is certain, that, but for this provocative, 
the following reflctions had never seen the light. 

The Author hopes, however, that this second series 
of three hundred and sixty -five Exercises to aid the 
retired Christian "at evening-tide to meditate," will 
be no less approved and useful than the preceding 

* At first the Evening Exercises were published in two volumes, 
separate from the Morning Exercises ; and two years after them. 



Vlll ADVERTISEMENT. 

number. He has not paid less attention to the 
selection and execution of the subjects — But that 
attention has been paid amidst the numerous en- 
gagements of an extensive charge, and, through 
the greatest period of the Work, also under the 
anxieties of the most trying domestic affliction. He 
has no doubt, but in seven hundred and thirty 
Exercises of this kind, the same thought and illustra- 
tion sometimes, and perhaps nearly in the same 
words, may occur. But they occur in new positions 
and connexions ; and the prevention was almost im- 
possible. Many of his readers will perceive marks 
of that haste which was also inevitable : and they 
who are accustomed to composition themselves, will 
know how hard it is to write on any interesting and 
fertile topic, under the restraints of a great and pre- 
scribed brevity ; and how unfriendly to ornament is 
perpetual effort at condensation. "If I have done 
well, and as is fitting the story, it is that which I 
desired : but if slenderly and meanly, it is that which 
I could attain unto." 

Percy Place, Bath: 
Dec. 10th, 1831. 



IX 



TO 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, Esq. 

My Dear Sir, 

I AM not certain that my motive was quite 
pure, when I felt a very powerful desire that, in a 
way of some little publicity and continuance, I might 
appear associated with One so esteemed and illustri- 
ous as the Man whose name dignifies this page, and 
at whose feet I presume to lay this Volume. 

A writer of judgment and wit has somewhere said, 
that " there are good persons with whom it will be 
soon enough to be acquainted in heaven." But there 
are individuals with whom it is no common privilege 
to have been acquainted on earth. 

It is now more than forty years since the Writer of 
this Address was indulged and honoured with your 
notice and friendship. During this period (so long 
in the brevity of human life !) he has had many op- 
portunities cf deriving great pleasure and profit from 
your private conversation ; and also of observing, in 
your public career, the proofs you displayed of the 
Orator, the Statesman, the Advocate of enlightened 
Freedom, and the feeling, fearless, persevering, and 
successful opponent of a traffic that is " a reproach to 
any people." But he would be unworthy of the 
ministry he fills, and be ashamed of the age he has 



X DEDICATION. 

now reached, as a professed follower of our Lord and 
Saviour, if he could not increasingly say, with Young, 

"A Cheistian is the highest style of man." 

All other greatness is, in the view of faith, seducing 
and dangerous ; in actual enjoyment, unsatisfactory 
and vain ; and in duration, fleeting and momentary. 
" The world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but 
he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." The 
expectation of the man who has his "portion in this 
life" is continually deteriorating : for every hour 
brings him nearer the loss of all his treasure ; and, 
" as he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall 
he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of 
his labour, which he may carry away in his* hand." 
But the " good hope through grace," which animates 
the believer, is always approaching its realities ; and 
therefore grows, with the lapse of time, more valuable 
and more lively. As it is spiritual in its quality, and 
heavenly in its object, it does not depend on outward 
things, and is not affected with the decays of nature. 
Like the Glastonbury thorn, fabulously planted by 
Joseph of Arimathsea, it blooms in the depth of 
winter. It "brings forth fruit in old age." "At 
even-tide it is light" — "For which cause we faint 
not; but though our outward man perish, yet the 
inward man is renewed day by day." 

And this, my dear Sir, you are now happily expe- 
riencing, at the close of more than "threescore years 
and ten." And I hail you, not as descending towards 
the grave under the applause of nations, but as an 
heir of immortality, "looking for the mercy of our 
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Attended with 
the thanksgiving of the truly wise and good on your 



DEDICATION. XI 

behalf, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and 
with an unsullied religious reputation, you are finish- 
ing a course, which you have been enabled to pursue 
through evil report and through good report; un- 
deviatingly, unabatingly ; forgetful of none of the 
claims of personal or relative godliness, amidst all the 
cares and engagements of a popularity peculiarly 
varied and extensive ; neglecting, in addition to the 
influence of example, no means to recommend the 
one thing needful to others ; and, even from the 
Press, defending the interests of practical Christianity, 
in a work so widely circulated, so justly admired, and 
so pre-eminently useful, especially among the higher 
classes in society. 

Nor can I omit the opportunity of acknowledging, 
individually, the obligations I feel myself under to 
your zeal and wisdom, when, in the novitiate of my 
Ministry, your correspondence furnished me with 
hints of admonition, instruction, and encouragement, 
to which I owe much of any degree of acceptance 
and usefulness with which I have been favoured. 
Nor can I forbear also to mention another Benefac- 
tor, whose name I know is as dear to every feeling 
of your heart as it is to every feeling of my own — 
the Kev. John Newton. With this incomparable 
man I was brought into an early intimacy, in con- 
sequence of his addressing me without solicitation, 
and when personally unknown to him, in counsels 
and advice the most seasonable, just as I had emerged 
into public life, peculiarly young, and inexperienced, 
and exposed. These opportune advantages, for which 
I would be daily thankful, recall the exclamation of 
Solomon, "A word fitly spoken, how good is it!" and 
lead me to lament that persons so seldom in this way 



XI 1 DEDICATION. 

seek or even seize opportunities of usefulness. How 
often do they omit to avail themselves of the influence 
which Grod, by their rank, or wisdom, or piety, or 
age, has given them over others, for their good : 
though it is a talent for which they are responsible ; 
and the use of which would often be as welcome in 
the exertion as important in the results ! 

The years which have passed over our acquaint- 
ance have been no ordinary ones. They have been 
signalized by some of the most important events that 
could affect other nations, or our own. I am suf- 
ficiently aware of your sentiments, and fully accord 
with them in thinking, that while, as men and citizens, 
we cannot be indifferent to the state of public affairs, 
but ought to be alive to the welfare of a Country that 
has such unexampled claims to our attachment and 
gratitude ; yet that, as Christians, we should judge of 
things by a rule of our own ; and esteem those the 
best days in which the best Cause flourishes most. 
Now while we have suffered much, and have had 
much to deplore, yet "the walls of the temple" have 
been rising "in troublous times," and our political 
gloom has been relieved by more than gleams of re- 
ligious glory. Let us not ask* with some, " What 
is the cause that the former days were better than 
these ?" The fact itself is, at least as to spiritual things, 
certainly inadmissable. Conceding that eighty or 
ninety years ago we had fewer taxes, and many of the 
articles of life were more cheaply purchasable, how 
much more than counterbalanced was this, by an un- 
converted ministry, a people perishing for lack of 
knowledge, a general carelessness with regard to the 
soul, and an entire unconcern for the enlargement of 
the Redeemer's kingdom ! 



DEDICATION. xiii 

At our first interview we could refer to none of 
the many glorious institutions which are now esta- 
blished. I have not space to enumerate them, nor 
must I yield myself to enlarge on their claims But 
reluctantly to pass by others, one of these has been 
surpassed by nothing since the days of the Apostles : 
and when I refer to the importance of its design, the 
simplicity and wisdom of its constitution, the rapidity 
of its growth, the vastness of its success, the number 
of languages into which it has translated the Scrip- 
tures, and the immensity of copies which it has dis- 
tributed ; I need not say, I mean the British and 
Foreign Bible Society, which may God preserve un- 
injured, and continue to smile upon, till all shall 
possess the unsearchable riches of Christ! Since 
then, too, what an extension has there been of Evan- 
gelical doctrine in the Establishment and among the 
Dissenters ; and, I fearlessly add, of the genuine in- 
fluences of Divine grace in the hearts and lives of 
thousands ! — Surely no unprejudiced individual can 
trace these things, comparatively with -rojiat preceded 
them, and not exclaim, " Grod hath done great things 
for us, whereof we are glad." 

I rejoice, my dear Sir, that a person of your con- 
sideration is in the healthful number of those who, 
notwithstanding the contemptuous denial of some, 
and the gloomy forebodings of others, believe that 
real religion has been advancing, and is spreading, 
and will continue to spread, till, without any disrup- 
tion of the present system, "the earth shall be filled 
with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea : for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 
You do not expect that a Country called by his Name, 
and in which he has such a growing multitude of fol- 



XIV DEDICATION. 

lowers, will be given up of God, and the fountain 
from which so many streams of health and life are 
issuing to bless the world will be destroyed. You 
justly think, that the way to gain more is not to des- 
pise or disown what the Spirit of Grod has graciously 
done for us already ; and that the way to improve- 
ment is not to run down and condemn every present 
scheme, attainment, and exertion, because they are 
not free from those failings, which some are too studi- 
ous to discover, too delighted to expose, and too zeal- 
ous to enlarge and magnify. If we are not to be 
weary in well-doing, we need not only exhortation, 
but hope, which is at once the most active, as well as 
the most cheerful principle. Nothing so unnerves 
energy and slackens diligence as despondency. No- 
thing is equally contagious with fear. Those who feel 
alarm always love to transfuse it. Awful intimations 
of approaching evils are not only cod genial with the 
melancholic, but the dissatisfied ; and while they dis- 
tress the timid, they charm those who are given to 
change. It is also easy to perceive that when men 
have committed themselves in woful announcements, 
they immediately feel a kind of prophetical credit at 
stake, and are under a considerable temptation to wel- 
come disasters as prognostics : for though they may 
professedly pray against the judgments, they know, 
and this is a great drawback in their fervency, that 
their avowed creed requires the calamities as vouchers 
of the wisdom and truth of their interpretations. If, 
to preserve his reputation from suspicion, after he had 
cried, Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be destroyed, 
Jonah himself was sad and sullen, and thought lie 
did well to be angry even unto death, because the 
city, with all the men, women, children, and cattle, 



DEDICATION. XV 

was not demolished, according to his word! what 
may not be feared from human nature now, if exer- 
cised with similar disappointments ? 

As, owing to the mildness and justice of the laws 
of the paternal government under which we are pri- 
vileged to live, there is now no outward persecution ; 
and yet, as religion always requires to be tried, we 
must expect that " from among ourselves will men 
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away dis- 
ciples after them:" for u there must be heresies, that 
they which are of a contrary part may be made mani- 
fest." In such cases, many are " tossed about by every 
wind of doctrine," till they make "shipwreck of faith 
and a good conscience." Others, who are not de- 
stroyed, suffer loss, especially in the simple, affectionate, 
devotional frame of their spirit. If good men are in- 
j ured, they are commonly beguiled : Uiey are drawn 
aside by something piously specious. Any proposal, 
directly erroneous or sinful, would excite their alarm 
as well as aversion. But if the enemy comes trans- 
formed into an angel of light, they think they ought 
not only to receive, but welcome a heavenly visitant : 
if he enters with the Bible only in his hand, and claims 
to fix their regards to any thing on that holy ground, 
they feel themselves not only safe, but even following 
the will of God : — not considering that if, even in the 
Scriptures, the speculative entices us away from the 
practical, and the mysterious from the plain; and 
something, though true and good in itself, but subor- 
dinate, engrosses the time and attention which should 
be supremely absorbed by repentance towards God 
fin i faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ — his aim may 
be answered, and " Satan get an advantage over us." 
Such persons, acting conscientiously, become as deter- 



XVI DEDICATION. 

mined as martyrs; and, continually musing upon 

one chosen topic, they grow as passionate as lovers, 

and wonder that all others are not like-minded with 

them — 

" The worst of rnadrnen is a saint run mad." 

There is not only a pride in dress, and beauty, and 
riches, and rank, and talent ; but of opinion also : a 
kind of mental vanity, that seeks distinction by pecu- 
liarity; and would draw notice by separateness : as 
that which stands alone is more observable, especially 
when noise is added to position. In this case the 
female is easily betrayed beyond some of the de- 
corums of her sex ; the younger will not submit to 
the elder; the hearer sits in judgment on the 
preacher ; and he that is wise in his own conceit will 
be wiser than seven men that can render a reason. 

For 

" Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." 

Mushrooms, and less saleable funguses, are ordinarily 
found in a certain kind of rich and rank soil. When 
religion, from being neglected, becomes all at once the 
subject of general attention, many will not only be 
impressed, but surprised and perplexed. The light, 
good in itself, may for the time be too strong for the 
weakness of the eye, and the suddenness of the glare 
may dazzle rather than enlighten. It is very possible 
for the Church, when roused from a state of lethargy, 
to be in danger from the opposite extreme. The frost 
of formality may be followed by the fever of enthu- 
siasm. Whenever indeed there is a high degree of 
religious excitement, it cannot be wonderful, consider- 
ing human ignorance, prejudice, and depravity, that 
there should be some visionary and strange ebullitions. 



DEDICATION. XV11 

"We have witnessed some of these during the years 
that are past ; but the day in which we now are is 
singular for the revival (with some perhaps perfectly 
new pretensions) of most of the notions that were fer- 
mented into being at the time of the Commonwealth, 
and which were then opposed by Owen, Baxter, and 
others, who had more divinity in their little finger, 
than is to be found in the body, soul, and spirit, of 
many of the modern innovators and improvers, who 
imagine that their light is not only " the light of the 
sun, but the light of seven days !" 

A review of History will shew us that, at the re- 
turn of less than half a century, some have commonly 
risen up eager and able to determine the times and 
the seasons, which the father hath put into his own 
power, and which the Apostles were told it was not 
for them to know. 'And the same confidence has al- 
ways been attended with the same success. No gain 
has ever followed the effects worthy the time and 
attention expended upon them ; no addition has ever 
been made to the understanding of the Scriptures ; 
no fresh data have been established from which 
preachers could safely argue ; no practical utility has 
been afforded to Christians in their private walk with 
God. And as their documents were not capable of 
demonstration ; as, for want of certainty, they could 
not become principles of conduct; and as no great 
impression can be long maintained on the public mind 
that is not based on obvious truth ; the noise of the 
warfare after a while has always died away, and left us 
with the conviction that " there is no prophet among 
us ; nor any that telleth how long." 

Some prove, in their spiritual genealogy, a descent 
from Reuben, of whom the dying father said, " un- 



XV111 DEDICATION. 

stable as water, thou shalt not excel." Yet they may 
strike, and produce *a temporary impression in their 
favour, especially in a country like this ; a country 
proverbial for its credulity, and its more than Athe- 
nian rage for something new, whatever be the nature 
of it. In England— 

(" England, with all thy faults I love thee still — 
. and I can feel 
Thy follies too")— 

in England, it has been said by a satirical, yet just 
observer, that " any monster will make a man." Who 
can question this for a moment, that has patience to 
mortify himself as a Briton by reflection and review ? 
Take prodigies Dwarfs, giants, unnatural births, 
deformities — the more hideous, the more repelling the 
spectacles, the more attractive and popular have they 
always been. Take empiricisms. Their name is Le- 
gion ; from animal magnetism and the metallic tractors, 
down to the last infallible remedy for general or specific 
complaints ; all attested and recommended by the most 
unexceptionable authorities, especially in high life ! 
Take the feats which have been announced for exhibi- 
tion. Whatever the promiser has engaged to perform, 
whether to walk upon the water, or draw himself into 
a bottle, what large crowds have been drawn together 
at the time appointed, and with no few of the better 
sort of people always among them ! How has learning- 
been trifled with and degraded ! Two or three insu- 
lated facts, and a few doubtful or convertible appear- 
ances, have been wrought up into a science ; and some 
very clever men have advocated its claims to zealous 
belief, and contrived to puzzle the opponents they 
could not convince. In the article of Preaching, what 



DEDICATION. XIX 

manoeuvres of popularity have not been successfully 
tried, till there seems hardly anything left for an ex- 
perimenter to employ on the folly of the multitude ! 

But what exemplifications, had we leisure to pursue 
them, should we find in the article of religious absur- 
dity and extravagance! Has any thing been ever 
broached with confidence that has not gained consider- 
able attention? Did not the effusions of a Brothers, 
who died where only he should have lived, in confine- 
ment for madness, secure numerous believers and 
admirers? Had he not defenders from the Press? 
Did he not obtain the notice of a very learned Senator 
in the House of Commons ? And as to the Exeter 
prophetess ; without any one quality to recommend 
her but ignorance, impudence, and blasphemy, yet did 
she not make a multitude of converts, not only among 
the canaille, but among persons of some distinction ? 
and had she not followers and defenders even among 
the Clergy themselves ? 

All reasoning and all ridicule for the time only 
served to contribute to the force and obstinacy of the 
folly. But how just here, is the remark of an eminent 
female writer — "Such preposterous pretensions being 
obviously out of the power of human nature to ac- 
complish, the very extravagance is believed to be 
supernatural. It is the impossibility which makes 
the assumed certainty; as the epilepsy of Mahomet 
confirmed his claims to inspiration." And is there 
nothing now going forward far exceeding in credulous 
wonder, arrogant pretension, and miraculous boasting, 
all that has gone before it in a country which, in a 
twofold sense, may well be called " a land of vision" ?* 

* If a person wishes to see this subject fully treated, he would do 
well to read a late publication, called " Modern Fanaticism Unveiled." 



XX DEDICATION. 

One way to become sceptical is, instead of remem- 
bering our Lord's words, " If ye know these things, 
happy are ye if ye do them," to become critical and 
curious in religion. A very fruitful source of error 
is to trample on the distinction of Moses: "The 
secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those 
things which are revealed belong unto us and to our 
children for ever, that we may do all the words of this 
law." The sciences and the arts being human inven- 
tions, and therefore not only finite, but imperfect, will 
allow of new discoveries; and every innovation is 
commonly an improvement, or by experiment it is soon 
rejected : but we make no scruple to say, that novelty 
in religion is needless, dangerous, delusive. We are 
to receive the kingdom of God as a little child. The 
design of the Gospel is to " cast down imaginations 
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
knowledge of God, and to bring into captivity every 
thought to the obedience of Christ." 

The maxim often quoted, of a very great and a very 
good man, who blesses and adorns our own age, and 
who furnishes another proof that first-rate minds are 
simple and free from eccentricities — " Though we are 
not to be wise above what is written, we should be 
wise up to what is written," has been made to justify 
more than he intended. The Apostle considers it a 
reproach to be "always learning and never able to 
come to the knowledge of the truth :" and it is a matter 
of lamentation when persons, perhaps well disposed, 
are seized with the imagination that there is something 

The work is anonymous; but the Author not only -writes with great 
ability and spirit, but is a determined advocate for Evangelical religion, 
and says nothing (which is always to be dreaded in such discussions) 
to the disparagement of seri&us or fervent piety. 



DEDICATION. XXI 

of importance to be yet found out in religion, instead 
of walking in the light, and having the heart esta- 
blished with grace. And what is the subject of these 
possible or desirable developments ? And what lack 
of motive or of consolation did they feel, who have 
gone before us in every kind of excellency ? And 
what more perfect characters can we expect than the 
Leightons and Howes, who, it now seems, were denied 
illuminations conferred on individuals just entering 
into the kingdom of God, without a religious education, 
and from the midst of worldly dissipation or indiffer- 
ence? And where are the superior effects or dis- 
coveries, which we are assured not only possess 
truth, but are of the greatest efficiency? We need 
not be afraid to compare the converts, the benefactors, 
the sufferers, the martyrs of one school with those of 
another. "No man also having drunk old wine 
straightway desireth new; for he saith, the old is 
better." 

Here again it is refreshing and delightful to turn 
to One distinguished by consistency, and who has 
awakened and retained attention so long, not by 
strangeness, but excellence ; not by crying, Lo, here ; 
or lo, there ; but by walking stedfastly in the truth ; 
and whose path has not been the glare of the meteor, 
or the "lawless sweep of the*comet," but the shining 
light of the sun, which shineth more and more unto 
the perfect day. Nothing would be more satisfactory 
to the Dedicator, now in the evening of life, than 
to be able to think, that in this particular he had 
been in some measure the follower of his admired 
and honoured Friend. And by the grace of God he 
can say, that it has been his aim and prayer to move 
straight on, never turning aside to the right hand or 



XXU DEDICATION. 

to the left, to avail himself of any temporary and ad- 
ventitious aids of popular applause ; constantly en- 
gaged in pressing only the plain and essential prin- 
ciples of the Gospel, and in matters of inferior impor- 
tance, if not of disputable truth, having faith, to have 
it to himself before God. 

There has been perhaps some little shade of differ- 
ence in our doctrinal views ; but as it has not been 
sufficient to impair your approbation of my preaching 
and writings, so I am persuaded you will find nothing 
in these volumes, should you ever look into them, to 
offend, even if an ocasional reflection does not perfectly 
suit your own convictions. In one thing it is certain 
we differ. We are not unwilling respectively to own 
the Episcopalian and the Dissenter. But in this dis 
tinction, we feel conviction without censure, and avow, 
preference without exclusion. And has Providence 
no concern in such results as these ? Suppose, my 
dear Sir, you had been placed originally in my circum- 
stances, and I had been placed in yours ; is it impos- 
sible or improbable that each of us might have been 
differently minded from what we now are ? Yet who 
determines the bounds of our habitations ? Who 
administers the events of our birth, and of the days of 
our earlier and most durable impressions? Who 
arranges the contacts into which we are brought with 
religious connexions and spiritual instructors ? And 
does not bigotry, that quarrels with every thing else 
arraign the agency of the Most High, and indirectly 
at least censure him f We do not use this argument 
without qualification, or push it to every extent; 
but there are evidently some who not only "judge 
another man's servant," but another man's master. 

We may in a degree value ourselves as being 



DEDICATION. XX111 

members of a particular church, but we shall be saved 
only as members of the Church universal ; and if 
we are in a right spirit, we shall prize the name of a 
Christian a thousand times more than any other name, 
however extensive or esteemed the religious body 
from which it is derived. 

Uniformity of sentiment may be viewed much in 
the same way with equality of property. In each 
case, the thing itself is perfectly impracticable ; and 
if it could be attained it would be injurious, rather 
than useful. It would abrogate many Divine injunc- 
tions, contract the sphere of relative virtue, and ex- 
clude various duties, which go far into the amiableness 
and perfection of Christian character. It is better 
to have the protection of the sovereign, and the 
obedience of the subject; the wages of the master, 
and the labour of fhe servant ; the condescension of 
the rich, and the respect of the poor ; the charity of 
the benefactor, and the gratitude of the receiver. "If 
all were the seeing, where were the hearing?" The 
hands and the feet could not dispense with each other, 
or even exchange their place and office. If persons 
acted from hypocrisy, formality, and education, only, 
they might present a kind of sameness ; but if they 
think for themselves, as they are not only allowed, but 
required to do, it is easy to see, that with the differ- 
ences there are in the structure of mind, and in out- 
ward opportunities and advantages, they cannot fall 
precisely into the same views. But let them exercise 
forbearance and candour, let them emulate each other, 
let the strong bear the infirmities of the weak, and 
not please themselves, — and we shall have a sum of 
moral excellence, far superior to what could be 
derived from a dull, still, stagnant conformity of 






XXIV DEDICATION. 

opinions. And is it not for this state of things, 
among those "that hold the head, even Christ," that 
the Apostle provides? "Let every one be fully per- 
suaded in his own mind." For one belie veth that he 
may eat all things ; another, who is weak, eateth 
herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that 
eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge 
him that eateth : for God hath received him. One 
man esteemeth one day above another: another 
esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully 
persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the 
day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that re- 
gardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard 
it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth 
God thanks ; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he 
eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us 
liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For 
whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether 
we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live there- 
fore, or die, we are the Lord's. But why dost thou 
judge thy brother ? or why dost thou set at nought thy 
brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment- 
seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the 
Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every 
tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of 
us shall give account of himself to God." The quo- 
tation is long : but I fear the principles of the reason, 
ing and the enforcements are not as yet duly regarded 
by any religious party ; though there are, in our re- 
spective communities, individuals who walk by the 
same rule, and mind the same thing. And I cannot 
forbear adding a few more of those fine Texts, 
which do not exclude the number, but diminish the 
importance of the articles of difference, and press 



DEDICATION. XXV 

only those in which Christians agree. " The king- 
dom of God is not meat and drink ; bnt righteous- 
ness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." "We 
are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, 
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence 
in the flesh." "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision 
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but a new 
creature." "In Jesus Christ neither circumcision 
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but faith 
which worketh by love." Let us abide in the liberty 
wherewith Christ has made us free. He has set our 
feet in a large place. There is room enough, in the 
plain around Stonehenge, for persons to walk and 
commune together very commodiously — Why should 
they try to get on some old molehills, or barrows over 
the dead, or hedge banks, where they must press 
against each other, or jostle each other down ? 

A cordial agreement in the essentials of the Gospel 
should induce us to put up with minor differences ; 
and a superior and constant engagement of the soul 
to the most important objects of religion will draw 
off, comparatively, the attention from inferior ones, 
leaving us neither leisure nor relish for them. 

When therefore, in reference to the latter day glory, 
it is said, "they shall see eye to eye," we are per- 
suaded, with Baxter, that there may not be a much 
more complete uniformity of opinion in many things 
than there now is. But there will be a more perfect 
accordance in great things, and a more perfect agree- 
ment concerning lesser ones. They will see eye to 
eye, as to the propriety of one measure ; — That if we 
cannot be of one mind, we should, like the first con- 
verts at Jerusalem, be "of one heart and of one 
soul." 



XXVI DEDICATION. 

"But does not the Scripture speak much, of unity 
among Christians?" It does — And what that one- 
ness is may be inferred from fact as well as from 
reasoning. The Saviour prayed that "all" his fol- 
lowers might be " one :" and God had before pro- 
mised that he would give his people "one heart and 
one way." Now it can hardly be supposed that this 
prayer and this promise have not been accomplished. 
But if they have been fulfilled, it has not been in a 
sameness of sentiment with regard to a number of 
things pertaining to religion, but with regard to the 
substance of religion itself: — a oneness, unaffected by 
minuter distinctions; a oneness, which included as 
servants of the same Lord, and as guests at the same 
table, a Hopkins and a Bates, a Watts and a Newton, 
a Porteus and a Hall : a oneness that resembles the 
identity of human nature, notwithstanding all the 
varieties of man. 

When will some persons believe or remember, That 
where there are no parts there can be no union ? That 
where there is no variety there can be no harmony? 
That it doth not follow because one thing is right 
that another is absolutely wrong ? That others differ 
no further from us than we differ from others? That 
it is meanness and injustice to assume a freedom we 
refuse to yield? That children, differing in age, and 
size, and dress, and schooling, and designation, belong 
to the same family? And that the grain growing 
in various fields and distances is wheat still, sown 
by the same hand, and to be gathered into the same 
garner? 

And would it not be well for us often to reflect on 
the state of things in another world, where it is believed 
by all, that the differences which now too often keep 



DEDICATION. XXvii 

the true disciples of Christ at a distance from each 
other will be done away? And to ask ourselves 
whether we are not likely to be the more complete, 
the more we resemble the spirits of just men made 
perfect ? And whether we must not have a meetness 
for glory before we can enjoy it? — But what prepara- 
tion in kind, what in degree, for such a communion 
above, have they who feel only aversion to all those 
who, however holy and heavenly, walk not with them 
in the outward order of religious administrations? 
How special and circumscribed is what some mean by 
the communion of saints! It only respects those 
within their own enclosures. They would inhibit 
their members from having much intercourse in com- 
pany, and from all, even occasional intermixture in 
religious exercises, with those they hope to mingle 
with for ever ! But not to observe that such inter- 
course and intermixture are perfectly consistent with 
general and avowed regularity of preference and prac- 
tice ; and the good influence it has to remove* the 
haughty and offensive repulsion of exclusiveness ; — 
Is there (as "we are taught of God to love one 
another;" and as, "every one that loveth him that 
begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him,") is 
there no danger of putting a force upon pious tenden- 
cies, and of chilling the warmth of holy emotions by 
the coldness and abstraction of system and rules? 
The remark of Paley on another subject may be well 
applied here. He is arguing the propriety of refusing 
every application of common beggars for relief. Some, 
he observes, have recommended the practice by strong 
reasonings ; and he himself seems much inclined to 
the same side. But he is too frank not to ask, "Yet, 



XXV111 DEDICATION. 

after all, is it not to be feared, lest such invariable 
refusing should suffocate benevolent feeling?" 

You, my dear Sir, are a proof that Christian libe- 
rality may abound, without laxity and without incon- 
sistency. And other instances of the same lovely 
character are increasingly coming forward; in which 
we see how rigid contention for minor partialities can 
yield to the force of Christian charity, and disappear 
before the grandeur of "the common salvation," and 
the grace of " one God the Father of all, who is above 
all, and through all, and in us all." "Perhaps," says 
Eobert Hall, "there never was so much unanimity 
witnessed among the professors of serious piety as at 
the present. Systems of religion fundamentally 
erroneous are falling into decay ; while the subordi- 
nate points of difference, which do not affect the prin- 
cipal verities of Christianity, nor the ground of hope, 
are either consigned to oblivion, or are the subjects 
of temperate and amicable controversy ; and, in con- 
sequence of their subsiding to their just level, the 
former appear in their great and natural magnitude. 
And if the religion of Christ ever assumes her ancient 
lustre — and we are assured by the highest authority 
she will' — it must be by retracing our steps, by revert- 
ing to the original principles on which, as a social 
institution, it was founded: we must go back to the 
simplicity of the first ages ; we must learn to quit a 
subtle and disputatious Theology, for a religion of 
love, emanating from a few divinely energetic prin- 
ciples, which pervade every page of inspiration, and 
demand nothing for their adoption and belief besides 
a humble and contrite heart." 

Bunyan, in his Holy War, says, that Mr. Prejudice 



DEDICATION. XXIX 

fell down and broke his leg: "I wish," adds the 
honest (and Mr. Southey himself does not refuse him 
the attribute), the matchless Allegorist — "he had 
broken his neck." Cordially joining in this devout 
wish, and apologizing for the undesigned length and 
freedom of this desultory Address, allow me, with 
every sentiment of regard and esteem, to subscribe 
myself, 

My dear Sir, 

Your much obliged and humble 

Friend and Servant, 

WM. JAY. 



CONTENTS. 



APRIL. 



Book. 

1 Morning — The bloody sweat Luke 

Evening — The Saviour's apprehension . . . John 

2 Morning — The Saviour's stipulation . . . John , 
Evening — The death of Christ Rom. , 

3 Morning— The burial of Christ 1 Cor. , 

Evening — Christ seen of numbers .... 1 Cor. , 

4 Morning — The Holy One incorruptible . . Psalm , 
Evening — Christian joy . • John . 

5 Morning— The important hour John . 

Evening— The Eucharistic hymn .... Matt. . 

6 Morning— Simon bearing the cross after 

Christ Luke . 

Evening — Christ's address to the daughters 

of Jerusalem Luke . 

1 Morning— Christ pierced John . 

Evening— The double effusion . . . . . John . 

8 Morning— The sight of the great Sufferer . John . 
Evening — Joseph of Arimathsea John . 

9 Morning — The grand attainment .... Phil. . 
Evening — Death and life with Christ . . . Rom. . 

10 Morning — The glory that followed .... 1 Pet. 
Evening — Christ the life of Christians . . . John . 

11 Morning — Character of Gospel times . . . Zech. . 
Evening — Nature Job . 

12 Morning — Providence Job 

Evening — Grace Job . 

13 Morning — Justification free Rom. . 

Evening — The Saviour's attraction .... Zech. . 

14 Morning — Creature dependence vain . . . Lam. . 
Evening — The source of comfort .... 2 Cor. . 



Oh. 


Verse. 


22 


44 


18 


n 


18 


8 


5 


8 


15 


4 


15 


6 


16 


10, 11 


IT 


13 


12 


2*7,28 


26 


30 



23 26 



23 


27-33 


19 


34 


19 


34 


19 


31 


19 


38 


3 


11 


6 


8 


1 


11 


14 


19 


3 


10 


23 


16 


23 


16 


23 


16 


3 


24 


3 


9 


4 


20 


1 


3 



XXX11 CONTENTS. 

Book. 

15 Morning — The sad defection Matt . 

Evening — The solemn deprecation .... Psalm . 

16 Morning — Christians not comfortless . . . John . 
Evening — The wanderers 1 Pet. . 

17 Morning — The divine engraving Zech. . 

Evening — Sanctification Heb. . 

18 Morning — The leaven in the meal .... Matt. . 
Evening — Care resigned ....... 1 Pet. . 

19 Morning — Care engaged 1 Pet. . 

Evening — Love to the brethren 1 John 

20 Morning — Christ praying in his agony . . . Luke . 
Evening — The lilies Matt. . 

21 Morning — Seeking Christ crucified .... Matt. . 
Evening — Helpers to the truth 3 John 

22 Morning — The rising and resting prayer . . Numb. 
Evening — The proof of Sonship John . 

23 Morning — David's resolution Psalm . 

Evening — Divine encouragement .... 1 Tim. 

24 Morning — Too late Luke . 

Evening — Abraham's devotion Genesis 

25 Morning — Early rising Mark . 

Evening — Prudential advice 1 Tim. 

26 Morning — The learner Luke . 

Evening — Intermediate existence .... 2 Cor. 

27 Morning — Members one of another . . . . Romans 12 
Evening — Deliverances improved .... 1 Sam 

28 Morning — Christ leaving this world . . . John 
Evening — The joyful close Acts 

29 Morning — Angelic succour Luke 

Evening — Comfort and tribulation .... 2 Cor. 

30 Morning — Peter remembered Mark 

Evening — Expectation of the Messiah . . . Hag. 



Ch. 


Verse. 


26 


56 


51 


11 


14 


18 


2 


25 


3 


9 


2 


11 


13 


3 


5 


7 


5 


7 


3 


16 


22 


44 


6 


28 


28 


5 


1 


8 


10 


35,36 


8 


42 


61 


2,3 


1 


16 


19 


42 


13 


1-4 


1 


35 


5 


23 


8 


35 


5 


8 


12 


5 


17 


37 


13 


1 


20 


24 


22 


43 


1 


4 


16 


7 


2 


7 



CONTENTS. 



XXX111 



MAY. 

Book. 

1 Morning — Yineyards in the Wilderness . . Hosea . 
Evening — Peculiar manifestation .... John . 

2 Morning — Dedication of David's house . . Psalm 
Evening — Sinners a curse Zech. . 

3 Morning — Saints a blessing Zech. . 

Evening — The Divine revelation .... Gal. . 

4 Morning — Self-pleasing renounced .... Eomans 
Evening — The ascended Saviour .... Luke . 

5 Morning — The one thing needful .... John . 
Evening — The creed of intemperance ... 1 Cor. . 

6 Morning — The seat of prayer 2 Sam. 

Evening — Importunate prayer Luke . 

7 Morning — The sun of righteousness . . . Mai. . 
Evening — God pacified Ezek. . 

8 Morning — Looking for God Isaiah . 

Evening — The temple Zech. . 

9 Morning — The builder Zech. . 

Evening — The glory Zech. . 

10 Morning — Daniel delivered Daniel . 

Evening — The departure from Egypt . . . Exodus 

11 Morning — The cripple's adherence .... Acts . 
Evening — Experience Genesis 

12 Morning — The angry disciples reproved . . Luke . 
Evening — Divine upholding Psalm . 

13 Morning — Divine relief Eomans 

Evening — The scars of honour Luke . 

14 Morning — Passing under the rod .... Ezek. . 
Evening — God's workmen Zech. . 

15 Morning — The bonds of the covenant . . . Ezek.. 
Evening — Hannah's address to Eli . . . . 1 Sam. . 

16 Morning — Yows fulfilled 1 Sam. . 

Evening — Christ going up to Jerusalem . . Luke . 

1 7 Morning — Strong faith Dan. . 

Evening — The Son of consolation .... Acts . 



Oh. 


Verse. 


2 


15 


14 


22 


30 




8 


13 


8 


13 


1 


16 


15 


2 


24 


52, 53 


4 


10 


15 


32 


7 


27 


11 


5-10 


4 


2 


16 


63 


8 


17 


6 


13 


6 


13 


6 


13 


6 


23 


13 


18,19 


3 


11 


30 


27 


9 


52-56 


17 


5 


7 


25 


24 


39 


20 


37 


1 


20 


20 


37 


1 


26,27 


1 


28 


9 


51 


3 


17,18 


4 


36 



XXXI V CONTENTS. 

Book. 

18 Morning — Good to be here Matt. . 

Evening — Importance of Christ 1 Cor. . 

19 Morning — Washing the Disciples' feet . . . John . 
Evening — "Walking with God Genesis 

20 Morning — An interest in Christ ascertained . 2 Cor. . 
Evening — Many ignorant of Christ .... John . 

21 Morning — The day of rejoicing Phil. . 

Evening — Arrival at Philippi Acts . 

22 Morning — Justification by faith Gal. . 

Evening — The Divine Pastor Mic. . 

23 Morning — The only Master Matt. . 

Evening— The Gospel of peace Isaiah 

24 Morning — "Wishing to go over Jordan . . . Deut. . 
Evening— The free Spirit .2 Cor. . 

25 Morning — Divine liberty 2 Cor. . 

Evening — Grieving the Spirit Ephes. 

26 Morning — Christ's inheritance Psalm . 

Evening — The awful caution ....... Heb. . 

2*7 Morning — The tongue loosed Matt. . 

Evening — Paul's wish Acts . 

28 Morning — Knowledge increased 2 Pet. 

Evening — The anxiety of pretence .... Job 

29 Morning — God's offspring Deut. . 

Evening — Adoption Gal. . 

30 Morning — Prayer Gal. . 

Evening — Prayer indispensable ... . Psalm . 

31 Morning — The food blessed Luke . 

Evening — Strong consolation Heb. . 



Ch. 


Verse 


17 


4 


1 


30 


13 


4,5 


6 


9 


9 


15 


1 


26 


2 


16 


16 


12 


2 


16 


5 


4 


23 


8 


51 


19 


3 


25 


3 


11 


3 


11 


4 


30 


2 


8 


12 


15 


9 


33 


26 


29 


3 


18 


1 


20 


14 


1 


4 


6 


4 


6 


2 


8 


24 


30 


6 


18 



CONTENTS. XXXV 



JUNE. 

Book. 

1 Morning — The vine John . 

Evening — The branches John . 

2 Morning — G-od the home of his people . . . Psalm 
Evening^ — The shamefulness of sin . . . . Hosea 

3 Morning — Our hope 1 Tim. 

Evening — Displays of Divine grace .... Acts . 

4 Morning — The water-pot left John . 

Evening — Solace in trouble Psalm . 

5 Morning — The morning arm Isaiah 

Evening — Attention to the Scriptures . '. . Deut. . 

6 Morning — Humble walking Micah . 

Evening — Jacob's wrestling G-enesis 

7 Morning — Jacob disjointed Genesis 

Evening — Determined piety Genesis 

8 Morning — Divine benediction Genesis 

Evening; — The pilgrim going forward . . . G-enesis 

9 Morning; — The Lord our judge Isaiah 

Evening — Grace in Christ 2 Tim. 

10 Morning — Piety and charity Acts . 

Evening — Delighting in mercy Micah 

11 Morning — Isaac old and dim Genesis 

Evening — Jewish phraseology explained . . Zech. . 

12 Morning — The fiery cloudy pillar .... Exodus 
Evening — Mutual consolation 2 Cor. . 

13 Morning — Sins punished and improved . . Numb. 
Evening — Advantages of revelation . . . Micah . 

14 Morning — Ignorance of Christ John . 

Evening — Adam questioned Genesis 

15 Morning — The nations divided Deut. . 

Evening — The strayed restored 1 Pet. . 

16 Morning — God's loving kindness .... Psalm. 
Evening — Christ wounded afresh .... Zech. . 

17 Morning — The value of the Saviour . . . Lam. . 
Evening — Jacob's journeying Genesis 



Oh. 


Verse. 


15 


5 


15 


5 


71 


3 


9 


10 


1 


1 


11 


23 


4 


28 


42 


6 


33 


2 


32 


46 


6 


8 


32 


24 


32 


25,26 


32 


26,27 


32 


28, 29 


32 


30-32 


33 


22 


2 


1 


3 


2 


7 


18 


27 


M 


13 


3 


13 


21,22 


1 


4 


16 


38 


2 


7 


14 


9 


3 


9 


32 


8 


2 


25 


26 


o 


13 


6 


4 


20 


28 


10 



XXXVI CONTENTS. 

Book. Ch. Verso. 

18 Morning — The gate of Heaven Genesis 28 17 

Evening — Paul at tent-making Acts . 18 1-3 

19 Morning — The strength of grace 2 Tim. 2 4 

Evening — Alpha and Omega Rev. . 1 8 

20 Morning — The blessed heritage Psalm. 61 5 

Evening — The miraculous supply .... Exodus 17 5, 6 

21 Morning — Satan resisted Eph. . 4 21 

Evening — The rock Christ 1 Cor. .10 4 

22 Morning — Conversion of the Samaritaness . John . 4 3,4 
Evening — Hezekiah's danger and deliverance Isaiah . 36 1, 2 

23 Morning — The God of nature and grace . . Psalm. 29 11 
Evening — Circumstances of worship . 

24 Morning — Mediation of Christ . . . 
Evening — The present Saviour . . . 

25 Morning — The glory of Ms promise . . 
Evening — Conversion of the Corinthians 

26 Morning — God choosing our resting-place . Numb. 10 33 
Evening — Christ talking with the woman . John . 4 21 

27 Morning — A shadow from the heat . . . Isaiah .25 4 
Evening — Psalmody Eph. . 5 10 

28 Morning — The Divine inquiry .... 1 Kings 19 13 
Evening — Hezekiah's sickness 2 Kings 20 1 

29 Morning — Paul encouraged at Corinth . . Acts . 18 9, 10 
Evening — Recovery from disease .... Isaiah 38 16 

30 Morning — The writing of Hezekiah . . . Isaiah 38 9 
Evening — The gladdening river Psalm 46 1 



Matt. . 18 20 

Matt. . 18 20 

Matt. . 18 20 

Matt. . 18 20 

Acts .18 7, 8 



MORNING AND EYENING- 
EXERCISES. 



APRIL 1.— MORNING. 

" His sweat was a3 it were great drops of blood falling down to 
the ground." Luke xxii, 44„ 

It is a question whether this sweat was blood com- 
paratively ; that is, whether it resembled blood, whose 
drops are denser, heavier, and larger, than those of 
common perspiration— or really blood. The latter is 
possible. — There have been instances of the kind well 
authenticated. Such an opinion early and generally 
prevailed; and nothing was more common among 
the Fathers, than to consider this as one of the times 
when he bled for us, each of his pores, as a kind of 
wound, flowing with that blood without which there 
is no remission. It is, perhaps, impossible to deter- 
mine this absolutely. But even allowing — what we 
by no means consider as proved — that it was" only 
blood in resemblance ; it must have been most extra- 
ordinary. For he was abroad in the open air ; upon 
the cold ground; the night far advanced; and the 
weather chilling — for the High Priest's servants made 
a fire to warm themselves. Here was enough to have 
checked perspiration. Yet his sweat was as it were 
great drops of blood falling down to the ground ! 

And what could have caused it ? Surely not the 
mere circumstances of dying. From Socrates, from 



2 April 1. — Morning, 

Seneca, there was no such effusion ; they were cool 
and calm. Look at the martyrs ; and even those of 
the more timid sex ; they were tranquil in the pros- 
pect, and in many instances came forth from prison 
smiling, and blessed the instrument of death — What 
was the reason of this difference? they had not to 
contend with the powers of darkness. But with re- 
gard to him this was their hour, and the power of 
darkness. They had not to bear the sins of others, 
nor yet their own : whereas the Lord laid on him the 
iniquities of us all. 

We indulge here no curious speculations ; and we 
require the definitions of no human creeds : but 
neither will we be reasoned out of the plain language 
and meaning of the Scriptures. We believe God; 
and not as some believe him ; that is, as a jury in a 
court believe the testimony of a suspected, a dis- 
credited witness, relying no farther upon his deposi- 
tion than it is collaterally supported ; and thus yield- 
ing no honor to himself. We do not found our belief 
on knowledge ; but derive our knowledge from belief. 
We believe in the unerring wisdom and veracity of 
Grod ; and he has told us, that Christ also suffered for 
sins, the just for the unjust; that he bore our griefs, 
and carried our sorrows ; that the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him ; and that by his stripes we are 
healed. 

Men think lightly of sin ; but an awakened con- 
science feels it a burden too heavy to bear. It has 
made the whole creation groan. But see Jesus bear- 
ing it in his own body ; and his sweat falls as great 
drops of blood down to the ground ! What, then, if 
you should bear it in your own person, O sinner! 
Why,, it will sink you to the lowest hell. Yet bear it 



Apkil 1. — Evening. 3 

you must, if you reject or neglect him; for there 
remaineth no more sacrifice for sin — He that believeth 
on the Son of God, hath everlasting life ; and he that 
believeth not the Son of God hath not life, but the 
wrath of God abideth on him. Yet, 

" Each purple drop proclaims there's room, 
And bids the poor and needy come." 

Oh ! let me look on him who suffers thus. Oh ! let 
me mourn over my sins, which caused his anguish — ■ 

" 'Twere you that pull'd the vengeance down 
Upon his guiltless head ; 
Break, break, my heart ; and burst, my eyes ; 
And let my sorrows bleed." 

But let me also rejoice. That bloody sweat proclaims 
my discharge from condemnation, and tells me the law 
is magnified and made honourable. 

And can I help loving him? Love begets love. 
And what can evince love like suffering ? And such 
suffering ! And for such criminals ! And not only 
without their desert, but their desire ! — Lord ! what 
wilt thou have me to do ? Speak, Lord, for thy ser- 
vant heareth. 

APRIL 1.— EVENING. 

"Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, 
Jesus of Nazareth." John xviii. 7. 

Every thing here is remarkable. 

— How wonderful that any in the very famity of 
Jesus should be base enough to betray him! But 
here we find Judas, who had been called to the 
Apostleship, and invested with power to work mira- 
cles, and a few hours before had partaken of the 



4 Apbil 1. — Evening. 

Holy Sapper, heading a band of men and officers, 
which he had obtained from the Chief Priests and 
Pharisees ; and betraying his Master and Benefactor 
into their hands, with a kiss ! 

— How wonderful was the courage of Jesus, that 
though he knew all things that should come upon 
him, not only remained in the place, but came forth 
from his retreat, and presented himself! This was 
the effect of a love stronger than death. Perfect love 
casteth out fear. 

— How wonderful was the rebuke and the repulse 
which his enemies met with ! No sooner did he pro- 
nounce the words, "I am He," than they went back- 
ward, and fell to the ground. Whether some rays of 
glory broke from his sacred body, or whether he im- 
mediately, by his power, impressed their minds, we 
know not ; but, surely, here was enough to induce 
them to discontinue the unhallowed enterprise. 

— Yet — how wonderful, that in a few moments they 
rise, and recover heart enough to approach him a 
second time — So that he asks them again, Whom 
seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. This 
was partly the influence of numbers. A man alone 
may be often easily deterred from an evil action. 
But it is otherwise where hand joins hand, and the 
sinner is seen and supported, and stimulated or re- 
proached, by his fellow-creatures. It shows us, also, 
the hardening nature of sin. When the men of 
Sodom were smitten with blindness, they even then 
groped by the wall to find the house where the 
heavenly visitants were. Upon the removal of each 
plague, when Pharaoh saw there was respite, he 
hardened his heart. And Ahaz, in his affliction, 
sinned yet more and more against God. And of how 



Apeil 2. — Morning. 5 

many may it be said, " Thou hast stricken them, but 
they have not grieved: thou hast consumed them, 
but they have refused to receive correction: they 
have made their faces harder than a rock ; they have 
refused to return!" 

— Neither means, nor even miracles, will avail when 
Grod leaves a man to himself. Persons often think 
that a dreadful event will do what ordinances have 
failed to accomplish. But we have known many who 
have been stripped and reduced ; and yet their minds 
have not been humbled before God. They have re- 
sembled fractions of ice, or stone ; broken, but not 
changed ; each piece retaining the coldness and hard- 
ness of the mass. They think that a spectre would 
be much more efficacious than a preacher ! Yain hope ! 
If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither 
would they be persuaded though one rose from the 
dead. 

O thou Grod of all grace, fulfill in my experience the 
promise — " A new heart also will I give you, and a 
new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away 
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you 
an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within 
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall 
keep my judgments, and do them." 



APRIL 2,— MORNING. 

"Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he; if therefore je 
seek me, let these go their way." Johx xviii. 8. 

Here we see the Saviour's readiness to suffer. He 
makes not the least attempt to escape from the hands 
of his enemies ; but tells them a second time that he 



6 Apeil 2. — Morning. 

was the victim they sought after ; and yielded himself 
up to be bound, and led away, without murmuring or 
complaint. This willingness was magnified — by the 
greatness of his sufferings — his knowledge of all he 
was to endure, his deserving it not, but bearing it for 
others — and his power of escape. 

Here we see his tenderness towards his disciples. 
He would not have them to die or suffer ; or, at pre- 
sent, even to be apprehended and alarmed. They 
were unable to bear it. They could not follow him 
now. He has the same heart still, and, from this 
instance of his conduct, we may conclude — That he 
will suffer no affliction to befal his disciples, unless for 
some wise and useful purpose — That he will sym- 
pathize with them in their suffering — That he will 
afford them support and comfort — That in due time he 
will wipe away all tears from their eyes. 

Here also we see his authority and dominion over 
their adversaries. We are mistaken if we suppose 
that he presented a request, when he said, If ye seek 
me, let these go their way. A request would have 
been nothing in the present state of their minds, and 
provided, as they were, with officers, and an armed 
band of Koman soldiers. It was in the nature and 
force of a command. It was an absolute injunction. 
"I will not surrender unless these are allowed to de- 
part. You shall not touch a hair of their head." 
Accordingly they make not the least objection, and 
suffer them to retire unmolested. 

This was in character with his whole history. In 
his penury he always displayed his riches; in his 
deepest abasement he emitted some rays of his glory. 

— The manhoood was seen ; but it was, so to speak, 
deified humanity. What majesty was combined with 



Apeil 2. — Moening. 7 

the humiliations of his birth — and of his death ! Does 
he here submit? He is a conqueror, demanding his 
own terms, and obtaining them. 

And did not this serve to enhance the sin of his 
disciples in denying and forsaking him ? They were 
overcome by the fear of man. But what had they to 
fear ? Did they not here see that their enemies were 
under his control ; and could do nothing without his 
permission ? Did he not here obtain for them a pass- 
port, insuring their escape and safety ? Yet they have 
not courage and confidence enough to declare them- 
selves on his side, and to stand by him ! 

And do we not resemble them ? How often do we 
shrink back from the avowal of our principles, or turn 
aside from the performance of some trying duty! And 
wherefore ? We also yield to the fear of man, that 
bringeth a snare. ' Yet what can man, what can devils 
do unto us? Satan could not Peter, nor touch an 
article of Job's estate, till leave was granted him. Our 
foes are all chained ; and the extent of their reach is 
determined by the pleasure of Him who loved us 
well enough to die for us. If he careth for us, it is 
enough. 

When shall we realize this, and go on our way re- 
joicing ? If He says to events. Let that man succeed 
in his calling — opposition and difficulties are nothing 
— he gets forward : the blessing of the Lord maketh 
rich. If he says to sickness, Touch not that indi- 
vidual ; the pestilence may walk in darkness, and the 
destruction rage at noon-day : a thousand may fall at 
his side, and ten thousand at his right hand — it shall 
not come nigh him. If He has anything more for us 
to do or suffer, though life be holden by a rotten 



Apkil 2. — Evening. 



thread, that thread is more than cable — we are immortal 
till our change comes. 

" Hast thou not given thy word 
To save my soul from death ? 
And I can trust my Lord 
To keep my mortal breath. 
I'll go and come, 
Nor fear to die 
'Till from on high 
Thou call me home." 



APRIL 2.— EVENING. 
" Christ died for us." Rom. t. 8. 

So have many. All those who have paid their lives 
to the injured laws of their country have died for us ; 
and if we derive not improvement from it, the fault is 
our own. The world drowned in the Deluge, perished 
for us. The Jews, whose carcases fell in the wilder- 
ness, suffered, as the Apostle tells us, as ensamples 
and admonitions to us. "We have buried friends and 
relations; but 

" For us they languish, and for us they die." 

That husband of her youth ; that wife of his bosom ; 
that child of their love, have been removed, to wean 
the heart from earth, and to show how frail we are. 

But are we going to rank the death of Christ with 
such deaths as these ? We would rather class it with 
that of an Apostle : " If I be offered," says Paul to 
the Philippians, " upon the sacrifice and service of 
your faith, I joy and rejoice with you." This was 
noble. But was Paul crucified for us ? 

— No — " It is Christ that died" His death is peculiar 
and pre-eminent ; infinitely peculiar and pre-eminent. 



April 2. — Evening. 9 

This was indicated by the prodigies that attend it. 
Yet on these we shall not enlarge. Neither shall we 
dwell on the many touching circumstances of his death. 
Such a tragical representation may be derived from 
the history as would draw tears from every eye, while 
the heart may be unaffected with, and the mind even 
uninformed of, the grand design of his death. The 
question is, What was this design ? 

Some tell us that it was to confirm the truth of his 
doctrine, by the testimony of his blood ; and to suffer, 
leaving us an example, that we should follow his 
steps. And this is true. And we believe it as fully 
as those who will go no further. But is this the 
whole, or the principal part of the design ? We 
appeal to the Scriptures. There we learn that he 
died for us, as an expiation of our guilt, and to make 
reconciliation for the sins of the people. There we 
see that He died for us a sacrifice, a ransom, a 
substitute ; that He redeemed us from the curse of 
the Law, being made a curse for us — that He once 
suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might 
bring us unto God. 

— Exclude this, and the language of the Bible be- 
comes perfectly embarrassing and unintelligible. Ex- 
clude this, and what becomes of the legal sacrifices ? 
They were shadows without a substance ; they pre- 
figured nothing. For there is no relation between 
them and his death, as he was a martyr, and an 
example : but there is a full conformity between them 
and his death, as he was an atonement. Exclude 
this, and how are his sufferings to be accounted for at 
all ? For he did not die for the sins of others, and he 
had none of his own. Where, then, is the God of 
judgment? That be far from him to do after this 

1* 



10 April 2. — Evening. 

manner ; to slay the righteous with the wicked. So 
far the Jews reasoned well : they rejected him, for 
they considered him stricken, smitten of God, and 
afflicted. And so he was : but " he was wounded 
for our transgressions ; he was bruised for our ini- 
quities ; the chastisement of our peace was upon him ; 
and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like 
sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned every one 
to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the 
iniquity of us all." Exclude this, and with what can 
we meet the conscience burdened with guilt ? With 
what can we answer the inquiry, How shall I come 
before the Lord ? With what can we wipe the tear 
of godly grief? But we have boldness to enter into the 
holiest, by the blood of Jesus. Surely he hath borne 
our grief, and carried our sorrow. His death was an 
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling 
savour. The all-sufficiency, and the acceptableness, 
were evinced, by his discharge from the grave, and 
his being received up into glory. There, within the 
veil, our hope finds anchorage — 

" Jesus, my great High Priest, 
Offered Ms blood, and died ; 
My guilty conscience seeks 
No sacrifice beside : 
His powerful blood did once atone, 
And now it pleads before the throne." 

Yet even this is not all the design. Christ died for 
us, not only to reconcile us, but to renovate ; not 
only to justify us, but to sanctify. The one is as 
necessary to our recovery as the other. And both 
equally flow from the Cross. For he gave himself 
for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity ; 



April 3. — Morning. 11 

and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
good works. 

" Oh ! the sweet wonders of that Cross, 

Where God, my Saviour, groan'd and died ! ' 
Her noblest life my spirit draws 
From his dear wounds and bleeding side." 



APRIL 3.— MORNING. 
"He was buried." 1 Cor. xv. 4. 

The resurrection of our Saviour necessarily pre- 
supposes his death, but not his burial. His burial 
was an additional thing: and, as his flesh could not 
see corruption, seemed an unnecessary one. But it is 
worthy of our notice. 

Who begged his body for interment? It was 
Joseph and Nicodemus. And here we cannot help 
remarking these petitioners themselves. Not many 
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many 
noble, are called ; but these men were of distinguished 
rank and condition in life. A few of these there have 
been in every age of the Church ; sufficient to show, 
not that the cause of Grod depends upon them, but to 
redeem religion from the prejudice, that it suits the 
vulgar only ; and also to prove the power of divine 
grace, in counteracting temptation. Yet, down, to 
this period, Joseph and Mcodemus had not been 
persons of much promise ; so far from it, they were 
ashamed and afraid to have their regard to our Lord 
known, when his disciples were professing their reso- 
lution to follow him to prison and to death. Behold 
the change ! The latter, in the hour of trial, forsake 
him, and flee : the former come, and openly acknow- 



12 April S. — Morning. 

ledge him. Let us all seek after more grace ; but let 
none trust in themselves, or despise others. " The 
strong maybe as tow;" and " the feeble maybe as 
David." The man of whom we now think nothing, 
may acquire confidence and zeal ; and not only pass 
us in the road, but leave us very far behind in attain- 
ments and usefulness. " Who hath despised the day 
of small things ? A bruised reed shall he not break, 
and the smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send 
forth judgment unto victory." 

— Who attended as mourners ? " The women also, 
which came with him from Galilee, followed after, 
and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid." 
With us, some days elapse before interment ; but 
here, only two hours were allowed between his exe- 
cution and his burial. If, indeed, his body had not 
been implored by Joseph and Nicodemus, it would 
have been interred at Golgotha — thrown into a hole 
dug under the cross. 

— Who carried the sacred corpse, we know not ; 
but they had not far to bear it ; " for the sepulchre 
was nigh at hand." This was not a grave of earth, 
but of stone ; hewn out of a rock. Thus there was 
only one avenue leading to it : no one, therefore, 
could approach it from the sides or behind ; and the 
entrance was watched, guarded, and sealed. It was 
also a new tomb, in which never man was laid. And 
here, again, we see the hand of God ; for had there 
been other bodies, some would have pretended collu- 
sion, and the evidence would not have been so simple 
and complete as it now was, when the body lay alone 
there. Finally ; it was not his own. His followers 
are mad after the honours and riches of the world ; 
but, living and dying, he had not where to lay his 



Apkil 3. — Morning. 13 

head. He was born in another man's house, and 
buried in another man's grave. 

— But why was he buried at all? First. His 
burial was an additional confirmation of his death, 
upon which every thing depended. An examination 
was made while he was upon the cross ; and finding 
him dead already, they brake not his legs ; but a 
soldier pierced his side, a ad forthwith came there out 
blood and water — But now his mouth, and nostrils, 
and ears, were filled with the odours and spices — and 
who can question a man's death when he is buried ? 
Secondly. It was the completion of his humiliation. 
"They have brought me into the dust of death." 
Now that he ascended, what is it but that he descended 
first into the lowest parts of the earth ? Thirdly. By 
this he sanctified the grave, and prepared it for his 
people. They would have been afraid to go in, but 
he entered it before them. They can lie in his bed, 
after him. He has freed it from every horror. He 
has softened it and made it easy for them. 

"And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other 
Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre." Let us sit 
by them and contemplate. There lies in that rock, 
He who made it. There are sealed up the lips which 
said, " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest." There are closed, the 
eyes which always beamed compassion, and wept for 
human woe. There, cold, are the hands which were 
laid on little children, to bless them, and that delivered 
the widow's son to his mother. There lies the life of 
the world; and the hope of Israel. He was fairer 
than the children of men. He was the image of the 
invisible God. He went about doing good. He was 
rich, and, for our sakes, became poor — 



14 April 3.— Evening. 

" Come, saints, and drop a tear or two, 

For him who groaned beneath your load : 
He shed a thousand drops for you, 
A thousand drops of richer blood." 

On the tombs of mortals, however illustrious, the 
humbling sentence is inscribed, "Here he lies" But 
I hear the angel saying, " Come, see the place where 
the Lord lay." He was dead, but he is alive again ; 
and because he lives, we shall live also. 

" Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell 

How high your great Deliv'rer reigns ; 
Sing how he spoiled the hosts of hell, 

And led the monster, Death, in chains. 
Say — ' Live for ever, wond'rous King ! 

Born to redeem, and strong to save.' 
Then ask the monster, Where's thy sting ? 

And, Where's thy victory, boasting Grave ?" 



APRIL 3.— EVENING. 

" After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; 
of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are 
fallen asleep." 1 Cor. xv. 6 

As the resurrection of the Lord and Saviour is of 
such unspeakable importance, it cannot be too clearly 
and fully ascertained. Now the way to prove a fact 
is to call in evidence : and if, in the mouth of two or 
three witnesses, every word shall be established — 
what shall we say, when we meet with such a cloud 
of witnesses as the Apostle here brings forward ? — 
witnesses the most competent, eye-witnesses ; ear- 
witnesses ; witnesses who even handled the Word of 
Life — men, not of hasty credence, but slow of heart to 
believe ; men, whose despondence was only to be re- 
moved by proof the most undeniable, arid upon which 



Apeil 3. — Evening. 15 

they hazarded every thing dear to them ; and braved 
reproach, and suffering, and death. 

— This interview took place in Galilee, where onr 
Lord had principally resided, and preached, and done 
his wonderful works. There he was best known, 
and chiefly followed. Before his death, he had said, 
"After I am risen again, I will go before you into 
Galilee." On the morning of his resurrection, we 
find the angel knew of this design ; and, therefore, 
meeting the woman, he said, " Go quickly, and tell 
his disciples, that he is risen from the dead; and, 
behold, he goeth before you into Galilee ; there shall 
ye see him ; lo ! I have told you." Influenced by 
this authority, "the eleven disciples went away into 
Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed 
them." From whence, it appears, that the very spot 
had been named. And, from the words of the 
Apostle, it is certain that the disciples did not repair 
to it by themselves ; but having made known among 
their connections the approaching interview with a 
risen Saviour, they enjoyed the privilege, in company 
with this large assembly. "He was seen of above 
five hundred brethren at once ; of whom the greater 
part remain unto this present; but some are fallen 
asleep." Every thing here is striking. 

The name — "Brethren." O lovely distinction! 
When will it swallow up every other ? When shall 
the religious world remember, that all real Christians, 
notwithstanding their differences, are all justified by 
the same blood ; sanctified by the same grace ; travel- 
ling the same way ; heirs of the same glory ; children 
of the same Father; "of whom the whole family in 
heaven and earth is named?" 

The number — " Above five hundred." We were 



16 Apkil 3. — Evening. 

not aware that lie had so many adherents. In Jeru 
salem, they could only bring together one hundred 
and twenty. But there were more in the country. 
Let us not judge of our Lord's followers by a parti- 
cular place or party. Let us remember, that he has 
his hidden ones, whom circumstances may never 
bring to our notice. How surprised should we be, 
if any event was to draw them together from their 
various retreats. How should we exclaim, "These, 
where have they been?" — What a multitude, then, 
which no man can number, will there be, when they 
shall be all assembled, out of all nations, and kindreds, 
and people, and tongues ! 

The ravages of time — " Some have fallen asleep." 
And no wonder, in the lapse of six- and- twenty years. 
Who has not, during such a period, been summoned 
to the grave to weep there? Whose heart within 
him has not been desolate, at the loss of friends and 
relations? Even the Church has not been a sanc- 
tuary from the robber and spoiler. The wise and the 
good, the holy and the useful, the followers and 
witnesses of the Eedeemer, have finished their course 
and their testimony, and have slept the sleep of 
death. 

Distinguished preservations — "The greater part 
remains unto this present." The majority of five 
hundred spared so many years — When, from the 
numberless perils of life, it was marvellous that any 
one of them should have lived even a week, or a day! 
Have we survived others? Let us not ascribe it 
to our own care, or the goodness of our constitution ; 
but say, with Caleb, when so many carcases fell in 
the wilderness, " The Lord has kept me alive !" 

And let us be concerned, that protracted life be 



Apeil 4. — Morning. 17 

devoted to Him, who is "the length of our days," 
and " the God of our salvation." 



APRIL 4— MORNING. 

"Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer 
thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of 
life; in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are 
pleasures for evermore." Psalms xvi. 10, 11. 

Our Lord tells us of many things concerning him- 
self, not only in the Law of Moses, and in the Pro- 
phets, but in the Psalms. Some have contended, 
that he is immediately regarded in every passage in 
them. This error, arising from a noble truth carried 
too far, has led the holders of it to take liberties with 
the translation, and' with the original too. We may 
safely follow the applications of the Holy Ghost ; and 
we are sure, from the language of Peter in the Acts 
of the Apostles, that, in the words before us, David 
speaks of the Messiah, or rather introduces the Mes- 
siah himself as the speaker. 

Jesus knew that he was to suffer, and die ; but he 
knew, also, that death could not feed upon him. He 
knew he should be laid in the grave ; but he knew, 
also, that he should not remain there — Thou wilt not 
leave my soul in hell. Hell, here, does not mean the 
place of the miserable, but the abode of the dead. 
This he entered; but continued not long enough 
there for dissolution to commence : " Neither wilt 
thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." 

The path of life was his passage from the sepulchre 
to glory ; from the tomb of Joseph to the palace of 
the Great King. This path no one had yet trodden. 



18 April 4. — Morning. 

Enoch, and Elias, had entered heaven, but did not 
go thither from the grave. Thousands had entered 
heaven, but left their bodies behind. But he did 
not leave his body. He is therefore called, the first- 
born from the dead, because he was the first that en- 
tered heaven after lying in the grave. He was the 
first-born, too, in the dignity and influence of the life 
he realized. Lazarus, and the widow of Nam's son, 
and others, though they were revived, died again. 
But he, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; 
death hath no more dominion over him. He lives as 
no one else ever lived, or ever will live. He lives, 
having the keys of hell and of death. He lives in 
the possession of all power in heaven and in earth. 
He lives as our Head and Eepresentative ; as the 
source of all spiritual influence ; as the Father of the 
everlasting age. And he shall see his seed, and shall 
prolong his days; and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
prosper in his hand. 

And because he lives, we shall live also. His re- 
surrection is the model, the cause, the proof, and the 
earnest, of our own. For there is a union between 
Christ and Christians, by which they are federally 
and vitally one. When, therefore, he died, they 
were crucified with him; and when he arose and 
ascended, they were quickened together with him, 
and raised up, and made to sit with him in the hea- 
venly places. And though their bodies return to the 
dust, they will not see corruption for ever — for this 
corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal 
shall put on immortality. 

The believer, therefore, can also say, Thou wilt 
shew me the path of life. This life means, the bless- 
edness reserved in heaven for the people of God 



April 4. — Morning. 19 

after the resurrection. David here describes it : — In 
thy presence is fulness of joy ; at thy right hand there 
are pleasures for evermore. It has three characters. 
The first regards its source — It flows from "his pre- 
sence." He is the fountain of life, and the supreme 
good of the mind. 

The second regards its plenitude — It is fulness of 
joy. In this vale of tears every pleasure has its pain, 
and every comfort its cross. We pursue satisfaction, 
but we grasp vanity and vexation. We look to Jesus, 
and find him the consolation of Israel. But consola- 
tion supposes trouble. His followers are described, 
not only by their rejoicing, but their mourning — 
without they have fightings, and within they have 
fears. They have blessed frames ; and, in some reli- 
gious exercises, they seem to be partakers of the glory 
that shall be revealed. And so they are ; but it is by 
a glimpse, a taste, a drop ; the fulness is above. 

The third regards its permanency — The pleasures 
are for evermore. Uncertainty, as well as deficiency, 
attaches to every thing here. We embrace our con- 
nections, and lo ! they are gone. We set our hearts 
on that which is not. 

If there was a possibility of the destruction, or loss 
of the blessedness above, we should be miserable in 
proportion to its greatness. From the moment of 
knowing it, the thought would poison all the joy. 
But — It is a crown of glory that fadeth not away. It 
is everlasting life ! 



20 Apkil 4.— Evening. 



APRIL 4.— EVENING. 

" And these things I speak in the world, that they might have 
my joy fulfilled in themselves." John xvii. 13. 

" In the world." For as yet he ivas in it, but was 
just going to leave it and go unto the Father. His 
last words, considering their conduct, might have 
been reproachful, or at least reproving : but the things 
he now spoke were adapted to encourage, and de- 
signed to comfort them. These things I speak in the 
world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in them- 
selves. 

Observe the nature of this joy — " my joy." There 
is a joy he himself feels in contemplating the welfare 
of his people. In saving them, "he rejoices over 
them with singing." As the good shepherd, he lays 
the sheep he has found on his shoulder, "rejoicing." 
He sees of the travail of his soul, and is " satisfied." 
But his joy here is not the joy of which he is the 
subject, but the joy of which he is the medium, author, 
source, and — only source. Jesus the Saviour ! All 
that is good and blessed is thine. The blood that re- 
deems us is thine. The righteousness which justifies 
us is thine. The grace that sanctifies us is thine. 
The power that supports us is thine. It is thy peace 
that composes us. It is thy joy that must be in us, 
or we must lie down in sorrow. Thou art "the con- 
solation of Israel ;" and there is not a drop of real 
comfort but flows from thee. But in thee there is 
every thing that can excite, every thing that can jus- 
tify joy — even though it should be joy unspeakable 
and full of glory. 

Observe the means of this joy — " These things 1 



April 4. — Evening. 21 

speak in the world, that they might have my joy ful- 
filled in themselves." This may be extended to all 
that he had delivered during his whole ministry : but 
it principally refers to his present speech, and the 
prayer he had offered in their hearing. These were 
to animate and console them. In these they could 
see his heart, his desires, views, and purposes, on 
their behalf. Here they heard him say that he had 
finished the work that was given to him to do ; and 
that he had power over all flesh, to give eternal life to 
as many as the Father had given him. Here they 
heard him interceding for their preservation, their 
holiness, their union, their glorification — What could 
they desire more ? And what can we desire more ? 
For, having fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope 
set before us, we are authorized to receive this strong 
consolation, and claim an interest in this intercession, 
according to his own words : " Neither pray I for 
these alone, but for them also which shall believe on 
me through their word." Yea, we have the advan- 
tage of them, since we are more fully acquainted than 
they were at this time with the dignity of his person, 
his dearness to God, and the grounds on which he 
pleads for us, in his obedience unto death, and in his 
sacrifice on the Cross. We know that the Father 
heareth him always. It was David's privilege to 
have an advocate at court, and he was the king's own 
son. But we have a much greater advantage in 
having an advocate with the Father. What was 
Jonathan to Jesus ? Jonathan, too, had to plead with 
a father that hated his friend. But says Jesus, "I 
say unto you, that I will pray the Father for you : 
for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have 
loved me, and have believed that I came out from 
Clod." 



22 Apkil 4. — Evening. 

Let us observe one thing here — The joy of the 
believer is not a visionary thing. It is not the pro- 
duce of delusion or ignorance. It flows from con- 
viction ; it appeals to the word of the Saviour. They 
who put their trust in him, know his name, and 
are able to give a reason of the hope that is in them. 

Observe the measure of this joy — " That they might 
have my joy fulfilled in themselves.'''' They possessed 
it already, but defectively. In conversion, a good 
work is begun ; but it is carried on until the day of 
Christ. The rising sun, the growing corn, and every 
other image employed in the Scriptures, import the 
imperfections and progressions there are in the experi- 
ence of Christians. Hence there are degrees in faith ; 
and we read of weak and of strong faith, of little and 
of great faith. Some have a competency of faith ; 
others are affluent; they are rich in faith. Some have 
hope ; others have the full assurance of hope. Some 
from various preventions have little of the pleasures 
of religion ; others walk in the comforts of the Holy 
Ghost. Some have many distressing doubts and 
fears; others are filled with all joy and peace in be- 
lieving. 

Observe, lastly, the importance of this joy. This 
undeniably results from the concern our Saviour here 
expresses. Men often err ; and we cannot conclude 
that a thing is eminently, or even really excellent and 
valuable, because they prize and pursue it ; for what 
trifles, what follies attract and influence many ! But 
as the Lord Jesus thinketh so it is ; his judgment is 
always according to truth. And therefore says he, 
These things speak I in the world, that my joy might he 
fulfilled in themselves. He knew the importance of 
this possession — to the honor of our religion, and the 



April 5. — Morning. 23 

^^commendation of the ways of godliness to others — 
to our activity and zeal in the divine life — to our 
weanedness from the world — to our support in trouble 
— and our comfort in the valley and shadow of death. 
In all these the joy of the Lord is our strength. 

Let the Saviour's concern regulate the concern of 
ministers. Let them be helpers of our joy, and seek 
the tongue of the learned, that they may know how 
to speak a word in season to him that is weary. 

Let the Saviour's concern regulate the concern of 
Christians. They should distrust themselves ; but 
they should be strong in the grace that is in Christ 
Jesus. They should watch and be sober: yet they 
should be scripturally confident. Are the conso- 
lations of God small with them ? They are not small 
in themselves, and they were not small in the expe- 
rience of the first believers. If, therefore, they are 
small with us, is there not a cause? Is there not 
some secret thing with us ? Let us search and try 
our ways, and turn again unto the Lord. Let us 
resolve to sacrifice whatever has caused him to hide 
his face from us. Let us pray, Eestore unto me the 
joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free 
spirit. Let us ask and receive, that our joy may be 
full. 



APRIL 5.— MORNING. 

''Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save 
me from this hour : but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, 
glorify thy name." John xii. 27, 28. 

Here we see the Saviour's anguish in realiziug the 
approach of the closing scene of his life. Yet the 
trouble of his soul could not have been produced by 



24 Apkil 5. — Morning. 

the certainty of his suffering and death onlj- f it must 
have principally regarded the nature of them. Unless 
we allow this, he loses his pre-eminence. Some of 
the sages of antiquity met their end with firmness. 
Socrates and Seneca died with composure. Stephen 
did not say, "Now is my soul troubled," when they 
were leading him to be stoned. Paul did not tremble 
when he said, "I am ready to be offered, and the 
time of my departure is at hand." "We have read of 
martyrs who issued from their prisons with singing, 
and embraced the stake. And though crucifixion 
was ignominious and painful, many of the Lord's 
followers had to bear a death much more torturing 
and lingering ; yet they were not troubled or afraid. 
But his sufferings and death were to redeem us from 
the curse of the law ; and therefore he was made a 
curse for us. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of 
us all. He bore our sins in his own body on the 
tree. And here it is that we see what a dreadful 
evil sin is. Many deem it a light thing; but hear 
him saying, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death." See him " sore amazed and very 
heavy." Behold "his sweat as it were great drops 
of blood falling to the ground." A Christian can 
never deem sin a trifle, or be reconciled to it, after he 
has seen 'the agonies of him who was pierced by it. 
And as the citizens of Eome, upon the uncovering of 
the wounded and gory body of Caesar, rushed forth to 
find and avenge his murderers, so every Christian 
flees to arms at the sight of the death of Jesus. 

" Furnish me, Lord, with heavenly arms, 
From grace's magazine ; 
And I'll proclaim eternal war 
With every darling sin." 



April 5. — Morning. 25 

— He here speaks as one in a strait ; as if struggling 
between inclination and conviction, his feeling and 
his work. "And what shall I say? Father, save 
me from this hour. But for this cause came I 
unto this hour." There is no real difficulty here. 
He was human as well as divine ; and the Godhead 
did not absorb the humanity, or change its attributes. 
The Word was made flesh, and had all the passions 
and infirmities of our nature, sin only excepted. But 
suffering in itself can never be agreeable to our 
nature ; for then it would be no longer suffering. If 
therefore we submit to it, it is not from pleasure, but 
for some reason or purpose. This reluctance, instead 
of being inconsistent with submission, serves to en- 
hance it, and is even necessary to it. There is no 
resignation in giving up what we do not value. If we 
had no inclination to food, there would be no self- 
denial in fasting. There is no virtue in a stone ; and 
there is no patience in bearing what we do not feel. 
Patience is injured by feeling too little as well as by 
feeling too much ; by despising the chastening of the 
Lord, as well as by fainting when we are rebuked of 
him. 

Our Saviour therefore acquiesces in the event. But 
in his mode of expressing it, he leads us to observe 
two things concerning his death. First, that it was 
not casual: "For this cause came I unto this hour." 
It was written in the volume of the book. — It was a 
covenant transaction. He assumed a body and enter- 
ed our world for the very design. — "The Son of man 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and 
to give his life a ransom for many " — He became in- 
carnate in order to die. Secondly, it was voluntary 
— " For this cause came I Unto tliis hour. " He was not 



26 April 5. — Morning. 

compelled or deceived into the business ; but as it Avas 
fore- appointed, so he fore-knew and foresaw it; and 
acted from independence and choice. He loved us 
and gave himself for us. He had his eye upon this 
scene from the beginning, and in all his travels of woe 
held it in view till he reached it, saying, " Lo ! I come 
to do thy will, God. I delight to do thy will : yea, 
thy law is within my heart." 

Hence his pious prayer — "Father, glorify thy name." 
As if he had said, "If my sufferings will be for thine 
honor, let them fall upon me, regardless of my feel- 
ings." Did he then question this ? By no means. 
His language is rather the expression of confidence. 
"I know that my death will infallibly and infinitely 
advance thy praise ; and therefore I cheerfully bow to 
thy pleasure" — Just as he said, after instituting his 
own supper, and when about to enter Gethsemane : 
" But that the world may know that I love the Father ; 
and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I 
do. Arise, let us go hence." 

But what is it to glorify his Name? Glory is the 
display of excellence. God's excellence cannot be in- 
creased, but it may be made known ; and this is the 
design of God in all his operations. The heavens de- 
clare his glory. All his works praise him. " And 
every labor of his hands shows something worthy of 
a God "— 

" But in the grace that rescued man, 
Bis brightest form of glory shines ; 
Here on the Cross 'tis fairest drawn, 
In precious blood, and crimson lines." 

If God had punished sinners in their own persons 
according to their desert, his law would have been 
magnified, and his righteousness and truth confirmed j 



Apkil 5. — Morning. 27 

and thus he would have been glorified. And this glo- 
ry of Grod is secured here : but observe the additional 
advantage. Had the wicked been punished, though 
his law would have been magnified, and his truth and 
righteousness confirmed, we could have seen nothing 
else — nothing of his mercy and love : but here mercy 
and truth meet together, righteousness and peace kiss 
each other. We see the exceeding riches of his grace, 
in his kindness toward us by Christ Jesus. And we 
draw the consolatory conclusion : " He that spared not 
his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall 
he not with him also freely give us all things ?" 

Herein also he hath abounded towards us in all 
wisdom and prudence. At present, indeed, we see 
comparatively but little of this glory : yet even now 
the sight is enough to .fix and fill the minds of believ- 
ers. And not only are they relieved and refreshed by 
the contemplation, but they are sometimes carried 
away, and catch glimpses of those irradiations reserved 
for another life, which will draw forth the wonder and 
praise of the heavenly world for ever — Angels desire 
to look into these things. 

We love not to consider Christ only or chiefly as 
our model. But after holding him forth in his higher 
characters as our sacrifice, and righteousness, and 
strength, it is more than allowable to bring him for- 
ward as our example. And then nothing will be more 
acceptable to Christians. The love shed abroad in 
their hearts by his Cross, will make them long to re- i 
semble him, and pray that they may be changed into 
the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit 
of the Lord. And this conformity is not only desira- 
ble, but necessary. "If any man," says he, "will be 
my disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his 



28 April 5. — Evening. 

cross, and follow me." Remember therefore that " he 
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should 
tread in his steps." We may feel our sorrows, and 
even desire the removal of them ; but we must do it 
as he did. "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass 
from me : nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." 
Like him, also, we must, as sufferers, regard the honor 
of God, and be concerned that his name may be glo- 
rified by our trials. " Wherefore glorify ye the Lord 
in the fires." You cannot do this in the same way 
with him. His sufferings w r ere mediatorial, atoning, 
and meritorious. But yours may be instructive, en- 
couraging, and useful. They may recommend your 
religion, and prove that God never forsakes his people, 
but is with them in trouble, and comforts them in all 
their tribulation, and enables them to acknowledge 
"he hath done all things well." "It is good for me 
that I have been afflicted." 

APRIL g.— EVENING. 
'•* They sung an hymn." Matt. xxxi. 30. 

This is a circumstance not mentioned by the other 
evangelists. But it is very instructive. 

We should like to have known the very hymn they 
sung. The psalms the Jews used at the end of the 
Passover began with the one hundred and thirteenth, 
and ended with the one hundred and eighteenth. 
Was the hymn here used one of these t Or was it any 
one else of the compositions of David ? Or was it the 
words of any other pious poet ? We cannot deter- 
mine. We have every reason to believe the subject 
of it was suited to the occasion ; and never had lan- 
guage been so honored before. We might also have 



April 5. — Evening. 29 

wished to know the manner in which they performed 
it. Was it recitative or choral ? Symphonious or re- 
sponsive? But how did he join? Oh! to have seen 
the emotions of his countenance ! to have heard the 
strains of his voice ! — But the Scripture is not designed 
to indulge our curiosity. It therefore only says, 
" they sung an hymn." But the fact itself teaches us 
that singing is a Christian ordinance. It is sanctioned 
by our Lord's own example. And the authority for 
the usage was not overlooked by the Apostles ; as we 
see both in their practice and precepts. Thus at Phi- 
lippi, we find Paul and Silas at midnight not only 
prayed, but " sung praises unto God ; and the prison- 
ers heard them." And thus Paul says to the Colos- 
sians, " teaching and admonishing one another in 
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord." And James en- 
joins those who are merry to "sing psalms." 

But observe by what this singing was immediately 
preceded, and by what it was immediately followed. 

It was immediately preceded by the administration 
of his own supper. Hence we learn that singing 
should accompany this sacred ordinance. "Joy be- 
comes a feast." And this is a feast — a feast of love 
and friendship — a feast of reconciliation between God 
and us — a feast upon the sacrifice — a feast in which 
we are reminded that "his flesh is meat indeed, and 
his blood drink indeed." And we ought not only to 
be thankful for such a death, but for such a memento 
and emblem of it. For here we have signs so lively 
and sensible, that before our eyes he is evidently set 
forth crucified amongst us. And what an honor that 
we who are not worthy of the children's crumbs are 
allowed to sit down with the King at his table, as a 



30 April 5. — E vexing. 

proof that "we are fellow-citizens with the saints, 
and of the household of faith !" 

" While all our hearts, and all our songs, 
Join to admire the feast ; 
Each of cries, with thankful tongues, 
Lord, why was I a guest?" 

It was immediately followed by his entrance into 
Gethsemane. When they had sung a hymn, "they 
went out into the Mount of Olives." ISTow this gar- 
den may be viewed as a place of suffering, and of re- 
tirement ; and so two things may be observed. 

First. That the prospect of suffering should not 
prevent our joy and praise. Though our Saviour had 
announced the treason of Judas ; foresaw the denial 
of Peter, and the desertion of all the disciples ; and 
knew that he was now going into Gethsemane, to 
agonize there, and there to be apprehended . 
away to crucifixion — yet this does not hinder hi. 
viously singing a hymn ! Does not this say to u» 
followers, Eejoice evermore? In every thing give 
thanks? A Christian should say, with David, "I 
will bless the Lord at all times ; his praise shall con- 
tinually be in my mouth. I look for changing scenes 
and trying dispensations ; but I shall always have to 
sing of mercy as well as judgment — and of mercy 
in judgment." " Come," would Luther say to 
MelancthoD, a wise man, but more timorous than 
himself, when prospects looked dark and distress- 
ing at the beginning of the Eeformation : " Come, 
let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm : and let earth and 
hell do their worst." Should it not reprove and 
humble us that we have so little of the mind that was 
in Christ Jesus, especially when we consider the 



April 5. — Evening. 31 

greatness of his sufferings, and the comparative light- 
ness of our own ? If we are not filled with murmur- 
ings and complainings, we are often silent in his 
praise, as if we had nothing to be grateful for, though 
encompassed with his goodness. The impression of 
one trial will make us insensible to the claims of a 
thousand blessings. "But Christ might well sing. 
He knew God would be with him in the trying 
scene." And will he not be with you ? Has he not 
said, "I will be with thee in trouble?" — "And he 
had a joy set before him at the end of his conflict, the 
prospect of which might well induce him to feel more 
than submission." And have not you ? Could you 
see the issue of all your trials, you also would — you 
must — rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Secondly. That religious ordinances and engage 
ments should not lead us to dispense with retirement. 
When therefore they had ended the communion by 
singing a hymn, they went out into the mount of 
Olives, whither he had often resorted for prayer and 
meditatioD. It is alone, after you have left the wor* 
ship, and especially the table of the Lord, it is there 
that you can revive the remembrance ; that you can 
bring home to yourselves what you have heard and 
seen; that you can call your consciences to an ac- 
count ; that you can yield yourselves afresh unto the 
Lord; that you can implore that Divine influence 
which alone giveth the increase. 

The neglect of this practice will explain the reason 
why many who attend the services of the sanctuary 
derive so little advantage from them — "Through 
desire a man having separated himself, seeketh and 
intermeddleth with all wisdom." 



32 April 6. — Morning. 



APRIL 6.— MORNING 

"And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simou, a 
Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, 
that he might bear it after Jesus." Luke xxiii. 26. 

In the course of a few hours he had taken many a 
weary and painful step. From the communion-cham- 
ber he had walked to the garden of Gethsemane — 
From Gethsemane he was hurried away, bound as a 
prisoner, to Annas — From Annas to Caiaphas — From 
Caiaphas to Herod — From Herod back again to 
Pilate — so that he had already traversed a great part 
of Jerusalem. But he must take one melancholy 
walk more — It is from the judgment-hall to Gol- 
gotha. 

With us, not only hours, but days, and frequently 
even weeks elapse between the sentence of death and 
the execution ; and Tiberius, the present emperor, had 
issued an order some years before, that no criminal 
should be executed till ten days after his condemna- 
tion. But the benefit of this edict did not extend to 
murderers and rebels, as it was judged necessary for 
the public safety and tranquillity that such malefactors 
should be immediately put to death. Jesus was ar- 
raigned as a mover of sedition as well as a blaspemer; 
and therefore, as soon as ever the sentence was. pro- 
nounced upon him, he was led away to be crucified. 
But he was not taken by surprise. He knew that 
his hour was come ; and was ready to welcome its 
approach. 

He was not conveyed to the place of execution, but 
walked. Nor was this all. Among the Eomans, the 
criminal carried his cross. The design of the custom 
was good. It was to intimate that he was the author 



April 6. — Morning. 33 

of his own punishment ; and seemed to say to him, 
"Hast thou not procured this unto thyself?" The 
outstretched arms of the criminal were fastened to the 
transverse beam, while the upright part of the cross 
rested between his shoulders, and extending down his 
back dragged on the ground. In this manner was 
Jesus to go forward. And in his case the imposition 
was not only humiliating but painful, owing to the 
bruises and soreness produced by the scourge. Yet 
thus was he pressed with the heavy load, and had 
to exert all his strength to draw along the instru- 
ment of his death. And considering his agony in 
the garden, his fatiguing night, his want of sleep 
and refreshment, and his loss of blood, no wonder he 
was found unequal to the continuance of the task, at 
least in the manner his executioners wished. 

Hence the relief afforded him. This relief was not 
from tenderness of him, but to hasten the execution. 
Thej saw that he grew weak, and frequently paused ; 
and were fearful lest he should fail before he reached 
the top of the hill. This would have occasioned delay ; 
and their wish was to get the crucifixion over, and 
the bodies taken down before the Sabbath began. And 
such was their haste, that by nine o'clock, he was lifted 
up from the earth ! He had drawn the burden 
through the streets, and was now between the city gate 
and at the foot of Calvary, in the ascending of which his 
difficulty would be increased. Here the procession 
met Simon. Simon was of Cyrene, a city of Lybia, a 
thousand miles distant from Jerusalem. He was an 
African and a black — never the worse for this — -yea 
we hope it was a token for good with regard to a race 
chargeable with so great a sin. He seems to have 
been a man of some note ; at least he was the father 

9* 



34 • Apeil 6. — Mobning. 

of Rufus and Alexander, who were afterwards distin- 
guished in the Church. Simon was coming up from 
the country, either to do business or to attend to the 
Passover. Nothing therefore could be more acciden- 
tal than this meeting. 

But how much in his history depended upon it ! 
We cannot help thinking he was a secret disciple of 
Jesus ; and seeing him thus suffering, and ready to sink, 
he betrayed his sympathy and regard by his looks 
and words. This was enough for the soldiers and the 
rude rabble, who setting up a laugh exclaimed, 
"Well, since the negro pities him, he shall help him." 
And so "on him they laid the cross, that he should 
bear it after Jesus." In another place it is said they 
" compelled" him ; but this regards their enforcement 
of the thing ; for it is obvious he made no resistance. 
Had he been an unrelenting Jew, an enemy to Jesus 
and his doctrine, he would have railed and cursed ; 
and the Priests and Scribes would have interposed for 
him, and desired the soldiers not to make a laughing- 
stock of one of their fellow-citizens. Or, if for a 
moment he discovered a little reluctance, he soon felt 
enough not only to make him willing to yield, but to 
enable him to rejoice that he was counted worthy to 
suffer shame for his Name. 

And is not the same thing required of us? Has not 
Jesus said, " Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and 
come after me, cannot be my disciple ?" We too at first 
may be ready to shrink back ; but further information 
and experience induce us cheerfully to deny ourselves, 
and to go forth to him without the camp, bearing his 
reproach. We see him before us — dignified and holy 
— enduring the curse for us — and leaving us only 
"this light affliction, which is but for a moment, and 



April 6. — Evening. 35 

which worketh out for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory." 

" We tread the path our Master trod. 
We bear the cross he bore ; 
And every thorn that wounds our feet 
His temples pierced before. 

" patient, spotless Lamb ! 
My heart in patience keep ; 
To bear the cross, so easy made 
By wounding thee so deep." 



APRIL 6.— EVENING. 

"And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, 
which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto 
them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for 
yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days are coming, 
in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs 
that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall 
they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us ; and to the hills, 
Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be 
done in the dry ?" Luke xxiii. 27-31. 

Only six days before, he had descended into Jerusa- 
lem from Bethany, by the mount of Olives, when the 
multitude spread their garments in the way, and cried 
Hosannah ! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
the Lord ! Many of the same people are now follow- 
ing him as he goes to Calvary to be crucified. As it 
was now a festival, there was an immense concourse 
of people : this would readily increase the number of 
spectators. But a public execution always collects a 
crowd. There must be something exceedingly attract- 
ive and interesting in such a sight, or so many would 
not repair to it; for they go voluntarily; and there 



36 April 6. — Evening. 

have "been instances in which a reprieve has disap- 
pointed their expectation, and led them to murmur 
that they had taken so much trouble in vain. Yet a pub- 
lic execution might be rendered morally impressive and 
useful. " The way of transgressors is hard." See there 
what an evil and bitter thing sin is. See the degradation 
of our common nature. That criminal may be less 
guilty than myself. He may have had few of my 
advantages. If left in the same circumstances he was, 
what might I have been? 

Our regard for the sex makes us lament that so 
onany females always attend such scenes as these. 
They have certainly more compassionateness than 
men ; but they have also in their nature a principle of 
curiosity, and a love of excitement, which sometimes 
carry them away. Here were many women, lining 
the sides of the road by which Jesus was to pass, 
some leading their children, and some carrying their 
babes. But they did themselves honor; for while 
others insulted, they " lamented him." Perhaps some 
of them had been healed by him. Perhaps some of 
them had heard him preach. Were any of the mothers 
here, whose infants he had taken in his arms and blessed ? 
Was the widow here, whose son he had raised from the 
dead? Was the woman here, who had washed his 
feet with her tears ? Could Martha and Mary be here ? 
Or Marj^ Magdalene and the other Mary? — these, see- 
ing him as he came opposite to them, in this piteous 
plight — bleeding — exhausted — pausing and panting — 
the executioners savagely goading him on — and the 
populace mocking at his grief; could refrain no longer, 
but strongly, as the word implies, expressed their 
sorrow, by cryings and tears, by wringing of their 
hands and striking their breasts. This required 



April 6. — Evening. 37 

courage as well as tenderness. It showed an interest 
in the supposed culprit: it seemed a censure of his 
suffering as unjust and cruel. And persons were 
severely forbidden to indulge in public condolence with 
offenders whom the Sanhedrim had condemned — But 
" love is strong as death ; many waters cannot quench 
love, neither can the floods drown it." 

Our Saviour's kindness and presence of mind are 
here seen. The nearness of his execution, and his 
present anguish, do not absorb him in selfish feeling ; 
but he turns to these daughters of Jerusalem, and says, 
" Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your 
children." Some suppose that he blamed these tears 
because he knew they sprang from ignorance of the 
cause and design of his death. Others suppose he 
blamed them because he did not deserve these te^ars, 
as he was a guilty sufferer, the Lord having laid upon 
him the iniquity of us all. The former surmise is ill- 
founded, the latter absurd. The fact is, he did not 
blame them at all, but would intimate, that if they 
knew what was ready to befall them, their sorrow 
would be more required for themselves than for him. 
It was an expression of his pity, excited by a view of 
the dreadful calamities which would desolate their city 
and their country, when even Jewish mothers, who so 
valued offspring, would hail the childless, and others 
envy the happiness of those who would be buried 
alive ! " For, behold, the days are coming, in the 
which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the 
wombs that never bare, and the paps which never 
gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the 
mountains, Fall on us ; and to the hills, Cover us." 

Of these judgments he intimates the cause, in a 
question drawn from a proverb: "For if they do 



38 April 6. — Evening. 

these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the 
dry ? " The green tree refers to himself, the dry to the 
people of the Jews. Surely, wood full of moisture is 
less inflammable than wood withered and dead. If I 
suffer who am innocent, how will the guilty escape 
— and who are adding my death to all their other 
crimes ? It shews us that sin is danger, and prepares 
us for the wrath of God. " Fury is not in me. Who 
would set the briars and thorns against me in battle ? 
I would go through them, I would burn them to- 
gether." And there are degrees of peril and of punish- 
ment. If the ignorant are destroyed for lack of 
knowledge, what will become of those who possess 
and abuse it ? If they escaped not, who refused him 
that spake on earth, how much more shall not we 
escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from 
heaven ? If the children of ungodly parents perish, 
what will be the doom of those who have been trained 
up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? 
If Moses and Aaron were so severely chastised for a 
single offence to which they were greatly provoked at 
the waters of strife, what have they to expect who 
sin constantly and without excuse ? If he deals thus 
with his friends, how will he treat enemies ? " Behold, 
the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth : 
much more the wicked and the sinner." "The time 
is come that judgment must begin at the house of 
(rod: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end 
be of them that obey not the gospel of God ? And 
if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the un- 
godly and sinner appear ? " 



Apkil 7. — Morning. 39 



APRIL 1.— MORNING. 

"But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forth- 
with came thereout blood and water." John xix. 34. 

This incident is recorded by none of the other 
evangelists. But John more than sufficiently attests 
it. The fact is very striking and improvable ; and 
perhaps we are not instructed in it as we ought to be. 

The ancients enlarge much on this wound ; and 
some of the moderns are not far behind them. One 
makes it an allusion to the manner in which Adam 
obtained his wife, and by which he was a figure of him 
that was to come. While the Lord from heaven was 
sleeping the sleep of death, his side was opened, 
and from thence his Church was taken, to whom he 
has espoused himself. Another makes it the cleft of 
the rock into which God puts us, as he did Moses, 
when he passes by and proclaims his goodness. A 
third represents it as a window made in his body, by 
which we can look into his heart, and see his love. 
Herbert, in his Temple, makes it a letter-bag, into 
which we may put any of our requests, and which 
shall be thereby safely conveyed to God ! ! 

It is painful to think what freedoms have been 
taken with the Scriptures ; and what silly and profane 
conceits have been indulged on subjects at once the 
most sacred and awful. And yet many refect to won- 
der at the impression made by such improprieties upon 
the minds of the young, and the educated, and the 
sceptic, and the scoffer ! We are not answerable for 
the dislike men feel to the truth itself; but we should 
distinguish between the offence of faith, and the of- 
fence of folly. 



40 April 7.— Morning. 

The occasion of the event was this. The Jews, be- 
cause it was the preparation, that the bodies should 
not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day — for that 
Sabbath was an high day — besought Pilate that their 
legs might be broken ; and that they might be taken 
away. The worst of men are often anxious about the 
external and ceremonial parts of religion. Conscience 
as well as decency requires something ; forms and rites 
are not difficult, and they leave the state of the heart 
untouched. What a mixture was here ! What su- 
perstition and wickedness ! What regard to the Sab- 
bath and the Passover, and what swiftness to shed 
blood ! The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 
Why do they not dispatch the sufferers at once, in- 
stead of only hastening their death by addition to their 
anguish ? The violence and the pain probably pro- 
duced the most dreadful outcries. In this barbarous 
manner the soldiers came and brake the legs of the 
first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 
One of these was the penitent thief. He had prayed 
to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom, 
and had received the assurance that he should that very 
day be with him in Paradise ; and the promise would 
now be fulfilled. Yet this does not exempt him from 
the same usage endured by his impenitent companion. 
'All things come alike to all. But though outwardly 
treated alike, what a difference was there between them 
in their feelings and in their end— one passing from 
torture into torment — the other rejoicing that all his 
suffering was for ever ended, and he should instantly 
enter into the joy of his Lord! 

Jesus had now breathed his last. Was it owing to 
the greater sensibility of his mind, and delicacy of his 
body, that he expired sooner than his fellow-sufferers ? 



Apkil 7. — Morning. 41 

Bather, we see here the voluntariness of his death. 
He had said, No man taketh my life from me ; I lay 
it down of myself. As he was the sacrifice, so he 
was the priest ; and through the eternal Spirit he 
offered himself without spot to God. He did not die 
therefore from a mere exhaustion of nature. He 
cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost ; and 
Pilate, as a thing perfectly unusual, when informed 
of it, marvelled that he was already dead. When, 
therefore, they came to Jesus, and saw that he was 
dead already, they brake not his legs : but " one of 
the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forth- 
with came thereout blood and water." From hence 
we see that our Saviour had not been long dead ; for 
had the flesh been cold, and the fluids coagulated, 
the effusions would not have taken place. Those 
who understand anatomy, and are aware of the mem- 
braneous bag which contains the heart r can easily 
account for the flowing of water as well as blood. 

But we have something of more importance here 
than any physical reflections. Let me, O my soul, 
consider the fact, as an instance of the indignity to 
which the Saviour submitted for my sake ; as a con- 
firmation of the reality and certainty of his death ; as 
a symbol of the manner of my recovery by him ; and 
as a display of Providence in fulfilling the Scriptures. 
Take your own thoughts first upon these remarks, 
and then read the illustrations in the following 
exercise. 



42 April 7. — Evening. 

APRIL 7.— EVENING. 

" One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith 
came thereout blood and water." John xix. 34. 

Let us view this fact as an instance of the indignity 
and insult to which the Saviour submitted. When we 
eonsi^ar not only the pre-existence, but the original 
gi^atness of the Lord Jesus; and read all the magni- 
ficent things the sacred writers have said of him ; how 
surprising do his grace and condescension appear! 
He took not on him the nature of angels — then they 
could not have pierced him ; but because the children 
were partakers of flesh and blood, he likewise himself 
took part of the same. Yet he did not assume our 
nature in any of its higher forms or conditions. 
Some are rich ; but he had not where to lay his head. 
Some are admired and caressed ; he was despised and 
rejected of men. Some are nobles and princes; he 
made himself of no reputation, but took upon him the 
form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, 
even the death of the Cross. The death was not only 
a scene of pain, but of shame : and to render it the 
more ignominious, he was numbered with the trans- 
gressors, and crucified between two thieves. He was 
also insulted when dying, and mangled when dead. 
my soul, was all this humiliation for me? And 
shall I deem any thing too dear to resign, or too try- 
ing to endure, for him ? How was that precious body 
prepared for him by the Holy Ghost treated ! How 
was his whole frame agonized when his sweat was as 
it were great drops of blood falling to the ground ! 
How was his flesh ravaged by the scourge when the 
ploughers ploughed upon his back and made long 
their furrows ! How were his temples lacerated with 



April 7.— Evening. 43 

the crown of thorns ! How was his face marred when 
they plucked off the hair ! How were his hands and 
feet pierced with the nails — while the soldier's spear 
pierced his side ! And how should I regard all this ? 
The wounds of a general who bleeds in the defence 
of his country are deemed not disgraceful, but scars 
of honor; and are viewed with emotions of tender- 
ness, admiration, and praise. Jesus displayed much 
more than such memorials. He retained them after 
his resurrection. When he appeared to the Apostles, 
"he shewed them his hands and his feet." Thomas 
was not then present, and continued incredulous, 
notwithstanding the testimony of ten witnesses. To 
him he also appeared; and said, "Reach hither thy 
finger, and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy 
hand and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless 
but believing." He wears them now. John saw him 
as a lamb that had been slain. He will wear them for 
ever ; and the view of them will serve to excite the 
renewed praises of his people. 

Let us view it as a confirmation of the reality and 
certainty of his death. It could not be said he was 
only in a swoon ; or half dead ; or that his resurrec- 
tion was nothing more than a recovery of suspended 
animation. His enemies were concerned to know 
that he had expired; and they fully ascertained it. 
The very act of wantonness in the ruffian soldier de- 
monstrated it. He could not have survived the wound, 
had it been given him in perfect health. It pene- 
trated the pericardium, and transfixed his vitals. 
But what is this to us? Every thing. Without his 
death, the whole Gospel is a cipher, and all our hopes 
are a delusion. He died for us. And he died for us 
not only or principally to confirm his doctrine, or to 



44 April 7.— Evening. 

be our example ; but to bear our sins in bis own body 
on the tree ; and by the one offering up of himself to 
perfect for ever them that are sanctified. He made 
peace by the blood of his cross. He died, too, as a 
testator : he made a new will, the legacies of which 
were invaluable; but it could never have become 
valid without his death : " For where a testament is, 
there must also of necessity be the death of the tes- 
tator. For a testament is of force after men are dead : 
otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator 
liveth." What, therefore, establishes my faith, in his 
death is, bej'ond expression, important. If it be false, 
I am left to all the effects of the Fall. If it be true, 
my triumph is complete — It is all my salvation and 
all my desire. 

Let us view it also as a symbol of the manner of 
our recovery by Mm. Hear what the reporter of the 
fact has said concerning it in his Epistle : " This is 
he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ ; 
not by water only, but by water and blood." It 
would be far short of the Apostle's meaning to con- m 
sider the allusion as sacramental, looking only at 
Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The reference 
regards the double efficiency of the Lord's death — to 
satisfy — and to sanctify. Blood to redeem, and water 
to cleanse ; the one to remove the curse of sin, the 
other the love of it. ISTeither of these blessings is to 
be found unless in the cross. But they are botli to 
be derived from a dying Jesus : and therefore iniquity 
need not be our ruin if we apply to him. He is a 
Prince and a Saviour. He gives repentance and re- 
mission of sins. 

Let us be convinced of our need of both; and com- 
bine both in our creed and our experience. It is a 



Apkil 7. — Evening. 45 

defective view of the death of Christ, to look to it for 
comfort only. . He died not only to atone, but to 
purify : " He loved the Church, and gave himself for 
it, that he might cleanse it by the washing of water 
by the word." The water and the blood were not 
severed in their effusion ; neither can they be divided 
in their application. Happy they who value both ; 
and can say, " In the Lord have I righteousness and 
strength I" 

Lastly, we may view it as a display of Providence in 
thefufilment of the Scripture. Hence, John immediate- 
ly adds, "And he that saw it bare record, and his re- 
cord is true ; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye 
might believe." Believe what? That Jesus was the 
Messiah, by the correspondence between him and the 
prophecies going before. Observe those he mentions : 
First, says he, "For these things were done, that the 
Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not 
be broken." Keferring to the language of David, " He 
keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.'' 
This was not only foretold of him in "words; but also 
prefigured in type. He was our Passover. Now of 
the Paschal L mb it was said, "Neither shall ye break 
a bone thereof" — This could not have . been verified 
had the soldier fractured his legs. Nor would anoth- 
er have been accomplished had he not pierced his side, 
Again, another Scripture saith, " They shall look on 
him whom they pierced:" referring to the language of 
Zechariah, "They shall look on me whom they have 
pierced." Thus the eye of prophecy, ages before the 
accomplishment, saw this soldier piercing him person- 
ally and literally ; and the Jews by means of him : and 
therefore he adds, "and they- shall mourn for him." 
And some of them, after they had crucified him, were 



4:6 April 8. — Morning. 

brought to repentance, and sorrowed after a godly 
sort. And others of them, yea all Israel, will do this, 
when the veil is taken from their heart. It is also now 
realized in every penitent who mourns for his sins as 
the cause, whoever were the instruments of the suffer- 
ings and death of the Saviour. 

Bat how true it is that "the Scripture cannot be 
broken!" And how wonderfully does God accom- 
plish it — by friends — by foes — by the righteous — by 
the wicked — by what is casual — by what is criminal ! 
[Nothing was further from the thoughts of this unfeel- 
ing soldier than the end answered by his brutality ; 
but he was God's instrument, and acted an important 
and indispensable part in proving his omniscience and 
veracity. 



APRIL ^.—MORNING. 
" They shall look on him -whom they pierced." John xix. 37. 

It is added in the prophecy from which these words 
are taken — 'And they shall mourn for him." And 
who is not ready to say, Nothing could have been 
more becoming in those who were chargeable with the 
deed, when they reflected that they had crucified an 
innocent being, a being who only went about doing 
good, a being made higher than the heavens — surely 
they ought to have mourned for him "as one mourn- 
eth for his only son, and to be in bitterness for him as 
one that is in bitterness for his first-born." But suppose 
toe should have been consenting unto his death ? Sup- 
pose we should have been the cause of it ? Suppose 
his persecutors and murderers were only the instru- 
ments we employed ? Then our resentment will ope- 
rate nearer home, and our grief will rend our own souls. 



April 8. — Morning. 47 

And this is the case with a real penitent. By faith he 
perceives and realizes his own bloodguiltiness in this 
awful scene ; and says, 

''And now the scales have left mine eyes, 

Now I begin to see ; 
Oh ! the curs'd deeds my sins have done, 
"What murderous things they be ! 

« — 'Twere you that pull'd the vengeance down 

Upon his guiltless head ; 
Break, break, my heart ! oh ! burst, mine eyes, 

And let -my sorrows bleed " — 

And there is no true repentance but what flows from 
the sight of the Cross. 

Yet they are not only to look upon him with godly 
sorrow, but also with enlivening hope. For he was 
not only pierced by them, but for them ; and by his 
stripes they are healed. Strong consolation is neces- 
sary to meet true conviction of sin. And here it is to 
be found, and here only. Every other refuge will be 
found a refuge of lies ; every other comforter a miser- 
able comforter. But that which satisfies the righteous- 
ness of Grod, may well satisfy the alarmed and afflicted 
conscience of the sinner. We have redemption 
through his blood ; and this blood cleanseth us from 
all sin. We oppose to the number and heinousness of 
our offences the infinite value of the sacrifice. We are 
reconciled unto God by the death of his Son. This 
death we plead, and are accepted in the Beloved ; and 
we joy in Grod through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
we have now received the atonement. 

We look on him also, and derive submission from 
the sight. The Apostle tells us to " consider him" as 
a sufferer, lest we be " weary and faint in our minds." 



48 April 8.— Morning. 

His cross is the tree by which the bitter waters in 
the wilderness are healed. His death has redeemed 
us from the curse of the law ; and nothing penal is left 
in any of our trials. The most painful of them are 
only the medicines of our heavenly Physician : the cor- 
rections of a loving Father. They are blessings in dis- 
guise. Are we tempted to despond or complain at our 
afflictions? What are our endurings compared with 
his?— 

We look on him also to excite and inflame our 
zeal. Many motives to obedience are mentioned in 
the Scripture, and therefore it cannot be improper to 
be influenced by them. Yet the purest and the most 
powerful motive is drawn from the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. And the first Christians owned and felt 
it. The love of Christ, says Paul, constraineth us to 
live not to ourselves, but to him that died for us and 
rose again. The divinity is equal to the poetry when 
the bard of night sings— 

" bleeding Calvary, 



The true morality is love of thee." 

Hear Hervey — In a letter dated Weston Favell, May 
6th, 1748, he writes thus to a person he had befriend- 
ed. "With regard to the little assistance which I 
have contributed, and which Mrs. thinks wor- 
thy of her acknowledgments ; I beg of her to observe 
that it is owing, wholly owing to her adored Eedeem- 
er. To him, to him alone, she is obliged — if there be 
an obligation in the case, for this friendly donation. 
He has been pleased to command this instance of my 
gratitude for his unspeakable tender mercies to my 
soul. He has been pleased to declare that he will 
look upon such a piece of kindness as done to his own 



Apkil 8. — Evening. 49 

blessed self. This makes me, this makes all believers 
glad to embrace every such, occasion of shewing our 
thankfulness to our infinitely condescending gracious 

Lord. The action which Mrs. calls generous, 

does not arise, as she expresses it, from any innate 
nobleness of mind. I remember the time when this 
heart was as hard as the flint, and these hands tena- 
cious even to avarice. But it is Jesus, the quickening 
Spirit, and the lover of souls, who has made your 
friend to differ from his natural self. If the flinty 
heart is melted into compassion, it is melted by a be 
lieving consideration of his most precious blood. If 
the avaricious hands are opened and made ready to 
distribute, willing to communicate, they are made so 
by the free grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore 
not unto me, not unto me, but unto the great and 
good Eedeemer, are all the returns of gratitude due." 



APRIL 8.— EVENING. 

" Joseph of Arimathaaa (being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for 
fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away the body 
of Jesus." John xix. 38. 

— We may consider this man in connexion with 
prophecy. Though all the prophets gave him witness, 
no one so specially testified of the sufferings of Christ, 
and the glory that should follow, as Isaiah. Observe 
the whole of the fifty-third chapter — But it is the 
ninth verse that bears upon our subject. Bishop 
Lowth's rendering has been universally deemed an 
improvement — "And his grave was appointed with 
the wicked, but with the rich man was his tomb." 
Here it is clearly intimated that there would be an 
3 



50 Apeil 8. — Evening. 

instance of overruling providence. Had the common 
and natural course of things taken place, he would 
have been buried with other malefactors in Golgotha, 
the place of a skull. There were thrown the bodies 
of the two thieves — but had his been thrown there, 
the prediction could not have been verified. But the 
word was gone out of God's mouth, and was firmer 
than heaven and earth. And if we turn from the 
prophecy to the history, we shall see how, though his 
grave was likely to have been with the wicked, yet 
with the rich man was his tomb. " When the even 
was come, there came a rich man of Arimathsea, named 
Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple : he went 
to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate 
commanded the body to be delivered. And when 
Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean 
linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which 
he had hewn out in the rock : and he rolled a great 
stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed." 
Let this induce and enable us to confide in the word 
of God more fully and more firmly. It is a tried 
word. For near six thousand years it has been con- 
tinually put to the test; and it has always been found 
faithful — " The Scripture cannot be broken." 

We may consider Joseph of Arimathaea in reference 
to his rank in life. He was " a rich man." How 
hardly shall they that have riches enter into the king- 
dom of Gocl ! Yet we here see the camel drawn 
through the eye of the needle : for what is impossible 
with men is possible with God. He was "an honour- 
able counsellor." Not many wise men after the flesh, 
not many might}', not many noble are called. Have 
any of the rulers believed on him? Suppose they 
have not ? Is all goodness or sense confined to them? 



April 8. — Evening. 51 

The common people gave much better proof even of 
their wisdom and taste than those who despised them ; 
"the common people heard him gladly" — But we 
answer, yes ; some of the rnlers have believed on him : 
witness Joseph of Arimathsea ; and Nicodenms. The 
wife of Herod's steward followed Jesus ; we read in 
the Acts, of honourable women not a few ; and in the 
Epistles, of saints in Csesar's household. We find 
Abraham rich and powerful enough to furnish from 
his own family four hundred armed men. Godliness 
once rode in the second chariot of Egypt ; and led 
Daniel, the prime minister of one hundred and twenty - 
seven provinces, to retire three times a day for praise 
and prayer: and in all ages there have been some 
instances of piety in the higher walks of life. There 
have indeed been few enough to shew that the cause 
of Christ has not depended on them, while they have 
been numerous enough to confute the prejudice that 
religion is only suited to the ignorant and vulgar. 

We may also view this man in connexion with his 
infirmity and imperfection. The Jews had passed a 
decree that if any man confessed Christ, he should be 
put out of the synagogue. Hence many who believed 
on him, yet feared to confess him. This was for some 
time the case with Joseph. He was " a disciple of 
Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews." "The fear 
of man bringeth a snare." It is this that leads many 
to ask, not whether such a thing be right ; but what 
will people think and say of me if I adopt it ? It is 
this that keeps many from following their convictions, 
and acknowledging what they know to be the truth. 
But we ought faithfully to adhere to the dictates of 
conscience; and not only be Christians, but appear 
such, confessing with the mouth, as well as believing 



52 Apeil 8. — Evening, 

with the heart ; and remembering that if we are 
ashamed of Christ, he will be also ashamed of us. 
"We do not therefore justify Joseph in this part of his 
conduct. Yet let us remember — that some individuals, 
owing to their stations and connexions, have difficul- 
ties in religion to contend with, which others know 
nothing of, or they would feel and pray for those they 
are now perhaps only disposed to censure and con- 
demn — That grace opera«fe in various degrees — and, 
that between the beginning and the progress of its 
work in the soul there may be as great a difference as 
between the mustard-seed and the mustard tree — And 
that we may hope the Lord has more disciples than 
we are aware of, only they are kept back from our 
observation by things blamable in themselves, yet 
compatible with sincerity. Little did Elijah think, 
when he said, I am left alone, that there were seven 
thousand men who had not bowed the knee to the 
image of Baal. Little did the Apostles imagine their 
Lord had a secret, yet real disciple in Joseph of Ari- 
mathsea. 

Therefore again observe this man in the increase 
and development of his Christian principle. For he 
now shews himself openly, and acts a noble and dis- 
tinguished part. The effect was owing to the death 
of Jesus — This did more than his miracles and 
preaching — This does every thing to purpose in the 
Divine life — Hence our strength, as well as comfort — 
11 1, if I be lifted up from the cross, will draw all men 
unto me" — Prudence would have said, forbear. You 
will involve yourself in trouble and expense. You 
will draw upon yourself suspicion. You will excite 
prejudice. You will injure your usefulness — Besides, 
he is now dead, and what good can you do his re- 



April 8. — Evening. 63 

mains ? But Joseph confers not with flesh and blood. 
It required no little zeal and courage to own a regard 
for one that had been judicially executed under the 
charge of blasphemy and sedition — to come forward 
and publicly ask for his body — to give it an honourable 
interment in his own garden and his own tomb, which 
had never yet been used. This was more than iden- 
tifying himself with the malefactor ; it was doing him 
honour to the utmost. It was far surpassing his 
Apostles: they had all forsaken him, and disowned 
their master dying and dead. But this man goes forth 
to him without the camp, bearing his reproach, and 
braving every danger ; for he now feels that perfect 
love that casteth out fear. 

Let us not decide upon the character of persons 
too soon. Let us not give them up because of some 
present weaknesses, much influenced perhaps by 
peculiar circumstances. Let us not despise the day 
of small things. We have often seen, in the ex- 
perience of the bruised reed and the smoking flax, 
judgment brought forth to victory : and we are con- 
fident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a 
good work, will perform it until the day of Jesus 
Christ. The path of the just is as the shining light, 
that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 
How delightful to see persons proving better than 
our fears, and far surpassing all our hopes ! What 
changes in our views and feelings sometimes render 
us a wonder to others, and perhaps also to ourselves ! 
How unlike may the present be to the future ! In 
the days of Queen Mary, when so many were put to 
death for denying the doctrine of transubstantiation — 
that Moloch at whose shrine so many victims have 
been immolated — a poor man was convicted and 



54 Apeil 9. — Morning. 

sentenced to be burnt alive. In his way to the place 
of execution he was very pensive and depressed. 
But when he came in sight of the stake, overpowered 
for the time with fear, he involuntarily exclaimed, 
"Oh! I cannot burn! I cannot burn!" Some of 
the priests supposing he wished to recant, imme- 
diately approached and addressed him. This, how- 
ever, was not his design ; but he wanted more of that 
confidence and consolation which would enable him 
to endure becomingly the fiery trial. He was left 
some minutes to himself, during which, in great 
earnestness and agony of spirit, he prayed that God 
would manifest himself more clearly to his mind — 
when God so shone in upon his soul, that, raising 
and clapping his hands, he cried with a loud voice — 
"Now I can burn.— Now I can burn." 



APRIL 9.— MORNING. 

"If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the 
dead." Phil. iii. 11. 

Here the subject of consideration is, the resurrection 
of the dead! But it is obvious the Apostle does not 
refer to it as an event ; for as an event it will be uni- 
versal, and we shall be the subjects of it, whether we 
are willing or unwilling — for there will be " a resurrec- 
tion of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust." 
But he refers to it as a privilege. That can hardly be 
called a deliverance that takes a man out of a bad 
condition, and consigns him to a worse. What is it 
for a criminal to be led out of prison to be tried, and 
condemned, and executed ? What is it for the body 



April 9. — Morning. 55 

to be revived, but not renovated — inheriting the prin- 
ciples of all the evils entailed upon it by sin, and ren- 
dered immortal for the duration of misery? The 
grave is better than hell. But while some will come 
forth unto the resurrection of damnation, others will 
come forth unto the resurrection of life — a resurrection 
that shall change the vile body, and fashion it like the 
Saviour's own glorious body — and complete all that 
the Saviour has procured for us 7 and the Grospel has 
promised to us. 

With regard to the acquisition of a share in this 
blessedness, the Apostle makes use of language that 
implies — valuation — difficulty — variety — submission: 
"If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection 
of the dead." 

— It implies valuation of the object Things may be 
important in themselves, and not prized by those whom 
they concern. And we see this with regard to the 
blessings of the Grospel : for though they are as supe- 
rior to all worldly good as the heavens are higher than 
the earth, yet men make light of them ; and were we 
to judge of eternal salvation by the regard paid to ;' 
by the multitude, we should consider it a trifle unwor- 
thy a moment's serious thought. But what is it in 
the view of awakened souls? The " pilgrim," when 
leaving the City of Destruction, and implored by his 
friends and family to return, put his fingers in his ears, 
and ran, crying, "Life! life! eternal life!" Such 
wait for the Lord more than they that watch for the 
morning. They hunger and thirst after righteousness. 
They count all things but loss for the excellency of 
the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord. This, says 
Paul, is the prize of my high calling. If I miss it, I 
am undone for ever. If I reach it, the possession will 



56 Apeil 9. — Morning. 

realize all my hopes and desires — The very prospect, 
as I can make it my own, enlivens and cheers me in 
all my labours and sufferings — "If by any means I 
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." 

— It implies the difficulty of the acquirement. All 
excellent things require application and diligence ; and 
he who rationally expects success must be determined, 
and bring his mind to exertion and endurance. What 
pains and patience are necessary to attain human learn- 
ing! " There is no royal way to geometry." And is 
Divine wisdom the prey of the idle and careless ? 
Must we labour for the meat that perisheth ; and can 
we, without labour, obtain that meat which endureth 
unto everlasting life ? No, says the Saviour, even in 
the very passage in which he speaks of "giving it" 
— where it is obvious, therefore, that the giving is not 
opposed to diligence, but desert. How readest thou ? 
"Strive to enter in at the strait gate." "Work out 
your salvation with fear and trembling." " Fight the 
good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life." But 
take those who, in their religion, know nothing of the 
privations and hardships of the soldier ; nothing of 
the unbending alacrity of the racer ; who never redeem 
their time ; whose day is only distinguished from their 
night by the substitution of sloth for sleep ; who ex- 
ercise no self-denial ; who never mortify the deeds of 
the body ; whose souls do not follow hard after God — 
would it not be perfectly absurd for one of these to 
say — "If by any means I might attain unto the resur- 
rection of the dead"? 

— It implies variety in the manner of reaching glory. 
This does not apply to the procuring of the blessing. 
This is done already. Jesus said, as he expired, " It 
is finished." He made peace by the blood of his cross ; 



Apkil 9. — Morning. 57 

and brought in everlasting righteousness ; and all 
that believe on him are justified from all things. At 
the Deluge, people could be drowned any where ; but 
there was only one ark. The way of salvation has 
been always the same from the beginning ; but the 
methods by which this salvation is applied are various. 
Yarious are the means employed in our conversion ; 
and various are the courses of duty in which we 
actually obtain the promise. All the Lord's people 
obey ; for he is the author of eternal salvation only to 
them that obey him : but they are called to obey in 
very different ways. One is required to act the Chris- 
tian in single, another in relative life. One fills a 
public station ; another, a private. Some are to receive 
with gratitude ; others are to give with cheerfulness. 
Some must discharge the duties of prosperity ; others, 
those of adversity. Our sufferings, too, vary, as well 
as our services. One glorifies God by bearing re- 
proach and persecution; another, by enduring bodily 
pain and infirmities. These have much outward 
trouble ; and those, more inward conflict. Each is to 
take up his cross, and to follow the Lamb whither- 
soever he goeth. For, 

Finally, it implies submission — not prescribing ; 
not objecting; but referring every thing to the Divine 
pleasure — "If by any means I might attain unto the 
resurrection of the dead. Whatever they are, I bow to 
them." This implicit submission is necessary, to 
evince the earnestness, and even sincerity, of our con- 
viction. If a patient really believes and feels his dis- 
ease and danger, he will shew it by readiness to yield 
to the remedies the physician enjoins, however trying 
they may be. Here, indeed, the great contention 
lies with many. It does not regard the end : they 



53 April 9. — Morning. 

would have heaven — but not by any means — it must 
be by those of their own devising or choosing. Are 
not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters 
of Jordan ? May I not wash in them, and be clean ? 
But when a man is at the point to die for ever — he 
will acquiesce in any means of deliverance, however 
mysterious to his reason, however humiliating to his 
pride, however averse to his sin and sloth. 

God will have the whole management of our case ; 
or he will have nothing to do with it. And he ought 
to have it. The submission is an homage due to his 
sovereignty. We have no claim upon him ; and it is 
mercy and grace the most wonderful, that he will save 
and bless us at all. "We owe it, also, to his wisdom 
and goodness : for, though he is a Sovereign, in the 
exercise of his prerogative he does not act arbitrarily ; 
but does all things well : his work is perfect. The 
issue, too, is such as to justify our submission to any 
means in securing it. The success will infinitely more 
than remunerate all our services and sacrifices. And 
the success also is sure. How many cases are there, 
in which means, any means, may be used in vain ! 
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to 
the strong. In every department of human enterprise, 
the successful candidates are few. Yea, the event in no 
other pursuit is infallible. But if you are like-minded 
with Paul, you need not fear the result. The gate of 
mercy was never yet shut against a returning sinner. 
Their heart shall live that seek God. 



Apkil 9. — Evening. 59 



APRIL 9.— EVENING. 

"Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live 
with him." Rom. vi. 8. 

The death and the resurrection of Christ constitute 
the substance of the Gospel ; and our concern with 
them, as doctrinal truths, includes more than our ad- 
mitting them into our creed. They must become 
interna] principles, and produce in us corresponding 
effects. He died ; and we must be dead — dead to the 
Law ; not as a rule of life, but as a covenant of works. 
Dead to the world : not as the scene of God's wonder- 
ful works ; nor as a sphere of duty : nor as a field of 
usefulness ; but as the enemy of God, and our portion. 
Dead to sin — This includes nothing less than our 
avoiding it : but it intends much more : we may be 
alive to it even while we forsake it. But we must no 
longer love, or relish it — and thus no longer live in it. 
How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer 
therein ? 

We must be dead with him. We are dead with him 
virtually. For he is Head and Kepresentative of his 
Church ; and, therefore, what he did for his people is 
considered as done by them. We are dead with him 
efficiently. For there is an influence derived from his 
cross, which mortifies us to sin ; and this influence is 
not moral only, consisting in the force of argument 
and motive— though this is true ; and nothing shows 
the evil of sin, or the love of the Saviour, like Calvary : 
but it is spiritual also. He died to purify, as well as 
to redeem ; and he not only made reconciliation for 
the sins of the people, but received gifts for men, and 
secured the agency of the Holy Spirit. There is no 
real holiness separate from the grace of the Cross. 



60 April 9. — Evening. 

There lie draws all men unto him. We are dead with 
him as to resemblance. "We are planted together in the 
likeness of his death ; and therefore our death is called, 
as well as his, a crucifixion : " Knowing this, that our 
old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might 
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." 
I am, says the Apostle, not only dead, but crucified 
with Christ. That mode of dying was a painful one ; 
and a visible one; and a gradual one ; and a sure one ; 
for the moment the body was fastened to the cross, it 
was as good as dead ; the bones might be broken to 
accelerate the event, but it was never taken down alive. 
All this is easily applied to the crucifying of the flesh, 
with the affections and lusts. 

But he rose, and now lives— and we shall live with 
him. That is — in consequence of his living. Because 
he lives, we shall live also. For we are quickened 
together with Christ, and are raised up, and made to 
sit together in heavenly places. That is — in his com- 
pany. Where I am, there shall also my servant be. 
We have much in heaven to endear it. How delightful 
will it be to join our friends with all their infirmities 
done away ! — But to depart, to be with Christ, is far 
better. That is — in fellowship with him. We may live 
with another, and not live like him. We may be with 
another, and behold his estate, but not share it. But 
when he who is our life shall appear, we also shall 
appear with him in glory. I appoint unto you, says 
he to his disciples, a kingdom, as my Father hath ap- 
pointed unto me ; that ye may eat and drink at my 
table, in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel. Even our vile body shall be 
fashioned like his own glorious body. And the same 
duration attaches to his blessedness, and ours. I am 



April 9. — Evening. 61 

alive, says he, for evermore ; and our end is everlasting 
life. 

Finally, Paul believed all this. And let us do the 
same ; but let us believe it as he did. That is — Let us 
believe that we shall live with him, ?/we be dead with 
him. Some believe it without this. Their faith is 
only presumption. Whatever they rely upon ; whe- 
ther their knowledge, or orthodoxy, or talking, or 
profession ; they are only preparing for themselves the 
most bitter disappointment — if they are not dead unto 
sin, and delivered from the present evil world ; for if 
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of 
his. 

— But let us also believe, that if we be dead with him, 
we shall also live with him. The inclusion is as sure 
as the exclusion ; and takes in every diversity and de- 
gree of grace. Whatever be their apprehensions of 
themselves, none of them all shall come short of this 
glory. It is as certain as the promise, and oath, and 
covenant, of Grod, and the death and intercession of the 
Saviour, and the pledges and earnests of immortality, 
can render it. 

Therefore, be not faithless, but believing. It was 
used by Christians to animate and encourage each 
other, in the Apostles' days, as a common and familiar 
aphorism ; and they gave it full credit : " It is a faith- 
ful saying : for if we be dead with him, we shall also 
live with him." 



April 10. — Morning. 



APRIL 10.— MORNING-. 



u The sufferings ol Christ, and the glory that should follow." 
1 Pet. i. 11. 

Connected with the sufferings of Christ there was 
a threefold glory. 

— There was a glory that preceded his sufferings. This 
is implied in his language — "I came forth from the 
Father ; " "I came down from heaven." But it is ex- 
pressly mentioned when he says, "The glory that I 
had with thee before the world began." What conde- 
scension can there be where there is no previous dig- 
nity ? And what possessions can a being claim before 
his existence ? But he was rich, and for our sakes 
became poor. He was in the form of God, and 
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He 
took upon him the form of a servant, and made him- 
self of no reputation. 

There was a glory that accompanied his sufferings. 
There is often much parade at the death of a monarch, 
and, by a show of greatness, an attempt is made to 
conceal or alleviate the disgrace of real littleness. But 
what are the suspensions of business, the splendid 
equipage, the tolling of bells, the solemn music, the 
discharge of artillery — 

" He dies — the heavens in mourning stood " — 

The sun was darkened. The earth shook. The rocks 
rent. The graves were opened. The dead arose. 
Spiritual trophies, blended with the prodigies of na- 
ture. Peter's heart was broken at a look. The centu- 
rion, watching, exclaimed, Surely this man was the 
Son of God. All the people that came together to 
that sight smote their breasts and returned. The 



April 10. — Morning. 63 

dying thief believed with the heart, and confessed with 
the tongue, unto salvation ; and received an assurance 
of an immediate place in paradise. And what a scene 
of moral glory was here also displayed — in his readi- 
ness to suffer; in his apology for his slumbering disci- 
ples ; in the order to Peter to put up his sword ; in his 
healing the ear of his enemy's servant ; in his stipula- 
ting for the safety of his Apostles } in his confession 
before Pontius Pilate ; in his bearing, without resent- 
ment, the mocking, the spitting, the scourging ; in his 
sympathy with the weeping daughters of Jerusalem, in 
his way to Calvary ; in his tender concern for his wi- 
dowed mother, on the cross ; in his prayer for his 
murderers — Father, forgive them ; for they know not 
what they do ! — where shall we end ? Here, Celsus 
endeavours to turn his glory into shame. Having 
represented him as despitefully used, arrayed in purple 
robes, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the tree, he 
cries out, "In the name of wonder, why, on this occa- 
sion at least, does he not act the God? and hurl some 
signal vengeance on the authors of his insults and 
anguish ? " But, thou enemy 1 he does act the God. 
Any madman on earth, or fury in hell, is capable of 
anger, and wrath, and revenge. But to bear the most 
shocking provocations, and, though commanding the 
thunder and the flame, forbear to punish, and only 
pity ! — If it be the glory of a man to pass by a trans- 
gression ; and the noblest triumph is to overcome evil 
with good; he died gloriously beyond all example. 
Yes — says even a Eousseau : " If the death of Socrates 
was the death of a sage, the death of Jesus was the 
dealh of a God." 

There was also a glory that followed his sufferings. 
"From the clouds that had concealed him, he issues 



64 April 10. — Morning. 

forth in all the radiance of immortality, declared to 
be the Son of God with power, by the Spirit of holi- 
ness, in his resurrection from the dead. An angel 
descends, and rolls away the door of the sepulchre, and 
sits in glory upon it; and shakes the ground; and 
causes the Eoman guards to flee for fear. His disci- 
ples are re-animated and re-assembled, to whom, also, 
he shewed himself alive, after his passion, by many in- 
fallible signs, being seen of them forty days, and 
speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 
See him ascend into heaven, far above all principality 
and power, and every name that is named, not only in 
this world, but also in that which is to come. "Were 
there glories on the day of Pentecost ? He shed forth 
that which was seen and heard. He filled the Apos- 
tles with the Holy Ghost, according to his promise, so 
that they spake with new tongues, and all the people 
heard, in their own language, the wonderful works of 
God. And three thousand were converted under one 
sermon. All the miracles his servants performed were 
done in his Name, and were rays of his glory. The 
establishment of the Gospel then, and the spread of it 
ever since, and every soul called by grace, is a part of 
the joy set before him, wherein he sees of the travail of 
his soul and is satisfied. 

And, oh! the glories that are yet to follow — when 
the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the 
light of the Lamb ! when he shall sprinkle many na- 
tions ! when all nations shall fall down before him, and 
all kings shall serve him ! And, oh ! the glories that 
are yet to follow, when his mediation shall be com- 
pletely accomplished, and he shall come to be glorified 
in his saints, and admired in all them that believe: 



April 10. — Evening. 65 

and attract every eye, and fill every heart, and employ 
every tongue, for ever ! 

Saviour Jesus ! may I be with thee where thou art, 
to behold thy glory 

APKIL 10.— EVENING. 

"Because I live, ye shall live also." John xiv. 19. 

We are seldom sufficiently struck with individual 
importance. We are all in a state of connexion with, 
and dependence upon, each other: like the members 
of the human frame, in which one part cannot say to 
another, I have no need of thee; and where even 
those members which seem to be more feeble are ne- 
cessary to the welfare of the whole body. But there 
are persons who seem to be the very life of the cause 
or the community to which they belong. Place them 
in a state of danger, and you awaken a thousand sym- 
pathies and anxieties. Eemove that monarch, and 
the extensive empire founded by his valour and skill is 
crushed at once, or crumbled by degrees to nothing. 
Eemove that minister, and the congregation he has by 
his talents attracted and formed is divided, diminished, 
and dispersed. Eemove the head of that family, and 
two tender relations are immediately produced, the 
widow and the fatherless, and both reduced to per- 
plexity and distress ; it may be, to want and oppres- 
sion. Yet in all these instances the dependence is not 
absolute, and the consequences admit of much excep- 
tion and limitation. Empires have flourished when 
monarchs have fallen. Congregations have continued 
when ministers have finished their course. Families 
have been provided for when the husband and father 
have been taken away — But here is a Being upon 



6Q April 10.— Evening. 

whom hangs all the glory of his Father's house. He 
is indispensably and infinitely necessary to a multi- 
tude which no man can number. Is he alive or dead ? 
If he be dead, we are for ever undone. If he be alive, 
we are safe, we are happy, we are made for eternity ! 
And what is his own language? "Because I live, ye 
shall live also." 

By his life, here, though spoken of as present, be- 
cause of its nearness and certainty, he means, his life 
after his resurrection ; and to this the Apostle refers 
when he says, "If, when we were enemies, we were 
reconciled to (rod by the death of his Son, much more, 
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Of 
this life we think comparatively too little, not consi- 
dering — that it was expedient for us that he went away 
■ — that he not only died for us, but rose again — that 
he is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour — that he is 
carrying on in heaven the same cause that brought 
him down to earth. There will be indeed a close to 
this at the end of the economy, when he will deliver 
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, and Grod 
shall be all in all : but at present he is leading not only 
a life of glory, but of office, and will continue apply- 
ing, on the throne, the redemption he procured on 
the cross, till he shall appear the second time without 
sin unto the complete salvation of his people. It 
would be easy to shew how the life of his people, in 
their justification, sanctiflcation, and glorification, de- 
pends on the living Saviour; but we see, also, that 
their life is insured and secured by his — " Because I 
live, ye shall live alsoP 

The certainty of the result is founded in three 
principles. First, the union subsisting between him 
and them. Secondly, the claim he has to urge on 



Apeil 10.— Evening. 67 

their behalf, having suffered and died for them. And, 
Thirdly, the all-sufficiency he possesses to meet all 
their exigencies. "We cannot infer the safety and 
welfare of a person merely from the regard of his 
friend; for, however intensely his friend may love 
him, he may be unable to succor and defend him. 
But the ability of the Sa iovisru equal to his readi- 
ness to help us. His love passeth knowledge, and 
has the command of unbounded resources — he is 
mighty to save — able to save to the uttermost those 
that come unto God by him. Jacob supposed Joseph 
was dead : but he was alive, and the prime minister 
of Egypt, and all the stores of the realm were at his 
disposal ; and because he lived his family lived also. 
And we have an Intercessor for us, an Advocate with 
the Father, a relation who loved us so as to bleed and 
die for us, who has power over all flesh, who has all 
power in heaven and in earth, and is head over all 
things unto the Church, which is his body. How 
can we perish for want while in him all fulness 
dwells? In what perils can his defence fail us? 
"Fear not," says he, "I am the first and the last; I 
am he that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am 
alive for evermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell 
and of death." 

u How can I die while Jesus lives, 
Who rose and left the dead ? 
Pardon and grace my soul receives 
From mine exalted Head." 



April 11. — Morning. 



APRIL 11.— MORNING. 



" In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man hia 
neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree." Zech. iii. 10. 

Thus Inspiration characterizes the reign of the 
Messiah — It was to be distinguished by three things. 

The First, Is enjoyment The very image is delight- 
ful. Yines and fig trees were much prized in the 
East. They afforded at once delightful fruit for the 
taste, and refreshing shade from the heat. Persons 
therefore regaled themselves under their branches and 
leaves : and thus the expression in time came to sig- 
nify happiness. And what said our Lord to his disci- 
ples ? Blessed are your eyes, for they see ; and your 
ears, for they hear. Because Christians do not run to 
the same excess of riot with others ; and turn their 
back on the pleasures of sin, and the dissipations of 
the world ; many think they are mopish and melan- 
choly. But blessed are the people that know the joy- 
ful sound. It was so in the beginning of the Gospel. 
Wherever it came, it was received as good news, as 
glad tidings ; and it was said of the receivers, that 
they walked not only in the fear of the Lord, but in 
the comforts of the Holy Ghost. It not only relieved, 
but delighted them. It not only tranquillized them, 
but inspired them with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. Have we the same Gospel ? Or do we embrace 
it properly, if, instead of being thus Messed, it leaves 
us in a dungeon of gloom, the victims of sadness, 
and anxiety, and apprehension? 

The Second, Is liberty. Slaves and captives did not 
sit under their vines and fig trees. Nor did pro- 
prietors in time of war. When invaded, they were 
liable to the surprises of the enemy. Then the in- 



April 11. — Morning. 69 

habitants disappeared from these loved, but no longer 
safe retreats ; and longed for the time when, released 
from perils and alarms, they should go forth with joy, 
and repose and refresh themselves again. Therefore, 
Eab-shakeh, to urge the Jews to a surrender, said, 
" Make an agreement with me by a present, and come 
out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, 
and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one 
the waters of his cistern." Hence we read, There was 
peace all the days of Solomon; and from Dan to Beer- 
sheba the people sat every man under his vine and 
under his fig tree. But a greater than Solomon is 
here. In "His days shall Israel be saved, and Judah 
shall dwell safely." What have his subjects to fear ? 
If Grod be for us, who can be against us ? Who is he 
that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather, 
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand oi 
Grod, who also maketh intercession for us. Christians 
may therefore give up themselves to holy confidence. 
Their souls may dwell at ease. They are free indeed. 
They are kept by the power of God. They shall never 
perish, neither shall any pluck them out of his hand. 
Let them realize this ; and feel a peace that passeth all 
understanding, keeping their hearts and minds through 
Christ Jesus. Let them say, " I will trust, and not be 
afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my 
song; he also is become my salvation." 

The Third, Is benevolence. Ye shall call every 
man his neighbour under the vine, and under the fig 
tree. There is nothing like selfishness here — they 
are anxious that their fellow -creatures should like- 
wise partake of their privileges. There is no envy 
here — there is no room for it. Here is enough, not 
only for themselves, but for others— and for all. 



70 Apkil 11. — Morning. 

And if we are Christians indeed, our happiness, in- 
stead of being impaired by the experience of others, 
will be increased by it. Let ns therefore remember 
the lepers. They had discovered plenty, and were 
regaling themselves, while their neighbours were 
perishing with famine in Samaria. But conscience 
smote them, and " they said one to another, We do 
not well ; this day is a day of good tidings, and we 
hold our peace; if we tarry till the morning light, 
some mischief will come upon us ; now therefore 
come, that we may go and tell the king's household." 
Thus the first subjects of Christianity said to the 
spiritually destitute and dying, "That which we have 
seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also 
may have fellowship with us ; and truly our fellow- 
ship is with the Eather, and with his son Jesus 
Christ." Cursed be the temper of the elder brother 
that turned wretched at the tears of joy that bedewed 
the beard of an aged father, and the ecstasies of a 
family thrown into transport, at the return and recep- 
tion of the prodigal. Let me resemble, in every 
feeling of my soul, those happy beings who rejoice in 
the presence of God over one sinner that repenteth. 
Let me invite all that come within my reach, to that 
mercy which I have found. Let me say, Oh ! taste, and 
see that the Lord is good ; blessed is the man that 
trusteth in him. And let me do this not only by my 
lips, but by all my temper, and all my conduct — ■ 
holding forth the word of life. 



Apkil 11. — Evening. 71 

APRIL 11.— EVENING. 
" God maketh my heart soft." Job xxiii. 16. 

"We may consider God's softening the heart three 
ways. There is a soft heart derived from constitu- 
tion — Thus he makes the heart soft, as the God of 
nature. There is a soft heart derived from affliction 
■ — Thus he makes the heart soft, as the God of provi 
dence. There is a soft heart derived from renovation 
— Thus he makes the heart soft, as the God of grace. 

Let us now attend to the first of these. We are 
fearfully and wonderfully made ; and while there is a 
general sameness, there is also a remarkable variety 
in the human race, naturally. It seems strange that 
any should deny this, and endeavour to account for 
every variation and inequality from the operation of 
causes subsequently to birth. Events and circum- 
stances have, unquestionably, a mighty influence in 
forming the character; and in elevating or depress- 
ing, in rousing or checking the powers of the indi- 
vidual ; but surely there is some difference previously 
to the existence or want of excitement and develop- 
ment. We cannot suppose^ that any similar mode of 
training would have made Johnson Shakespeare, or 
Shakespeare Johnson. Some are naturally bold, for- 
ward, and loquacious. Others are timid, retreating, 
and slow of speech. The meal out of which some are 
kneaded, seems leavened with laudanum ; while mer- 
cury seems infused into the very frame of others, and 
they are all vigor and motion. How unimpressible 
are some ! It matters not where they are ; all places 
and all scenes are nearly the same to them ; they are 
insensible to every thing that can strike the senses, 



72 April 11. — Evening. 

imagination, and passions. But — and you may see it 
in children — take others, and you find their curiosity 
is awakened, their fear excited, their hope inflamed, 
according to the quality of what comes in contact 
with them ; and their feelings respond to every pleas- 
ing or painful occurrence. 

We are not able to determine physically the cause 
of this constitutional sensibility ; it requires far more 
knowledge than we possess or can probably acquire. 
Neither is it necessary to attempt absolutely to decide 
whether this softness of heart be, upon the whole, de- 
sirable or advantageous. We must not, in this case, 
arraign the sovereign pleasure of God, any more than 
in our form or our stature, by saying, Why has thou 
made me thus ? Nor should we forget that religion 
adapts itself to every peculiarity of natural formation 
and complexion. It has scenery for the imaginative, 
secrets for the inquisitive, depths for the profound, 
argument for the reasoning, and facts for the busy 
and simple ; it has active engagements for the daring 
and zealous; and retirement and gentleness for the 
meek ; it allures some, and some it saves with fear. 
There is nothing also in the world purely natural, 
but the Maker of all things has, so to speak, balanced 
or qualified ; levying some tax upon what is admired 
and envied, and connecting some redeeming quality, 
or some power of compensation, with every dis- 
advantage. Certain states or qualities, therefore, ab- 
stractedly considered, cannot prove how much the 
subjects of them actually suffer or enjoy. 

The tenderness of which we are speaking certainly 
gives a quickness to the sensations of the individual, 
so that he admits more misery than another ; but he 
feels also more happiness. Such a man incurs, indeed, 



April 11. — Evening. 73 

many a pang by his sensibility ; but then he is capable 
of a thousand pleasures which others know not of. 
He has, indeed, less peace, but more enjoyment; and 
his exquisite indulgences, with the alternations of 
sadness, in which, too, lie often feels a strange kind 
of satisfaction and luxury, are far better than the 
stagnant pool, or the dull, unvarying level of dullness 
and unfeeling sameness. I would rather be a sensi- 
tive plant than a fungus. Who would, as a traveller, 
be cased from head to foot in leather, to escape the 
inconvenience of a few gnats and briers, and lose the 
liberty and gratifications of the journey? 

All must allow that this sensibility renders the 
possessor amiable. Men are commonly ashamed of 
being seen in tears. ' But true greatness is always 
tender and sympathetic. Homer, that just observer 
of nature, makes no scruple to represent Ulysses, his 
best of men, and Achilles, his bravest of men, fre- 
quently weeping. Jonathan and David were the 
most heroical young men of the age ; yet they wept 
on each other's neck, till each exceeded. Yea we 
read that the Lord of all wept at the grave of 
Lazarus. What can equal beauty in tears? The 
moment a female appears devoid of tenderness, she 
wants an excellence so essential, that nothing can 
atone for in her ; and though she may possess talent, 
and retain the dress of the sex, she forfeits the 
honourable and endeared name of woman. 

It will also be acknowledged that this sensibility 
prepares persons for usefulness. In numberless 
cases, where the relief and comfort of our fellow- 
creatures are concerned, many are not excited and 
constrained to act, because they do not feel. 
4 



74 April 12. — Morning. 



APRIL 12.— MORNING. 
" God maketh my heart soft." Job xxiii. 16. 

There is a soft heart derived from affliction. Thus 
God maketh the heart soft, as the God of providence. 

To this, Job immediately refers. " For God maketh 
my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me, because 
I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he 
covered the darkness from my face." 

Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. 
But we shall not enlarge upon the multitude and 
variety; the sources, kinds, and degrees of human 
sufferings in this vale of tears. And we shall turn 
away as soon as possible from those who seem insen- 
sible under their trials, and despise the chastening of 
the Lord. When God strikes them, they strike again ; 
and repair in their calamity to places of sin or dissi- 
pation, to drown all sense of sorrow. Of this temper, 
were those of whom Jeremiah complained : " Thou 
hast stricken them, but they have not grieved ; thou 
hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive 
correction ; they have made their faces harder than a 
rock; they have refused to return." The judgments 
of God which befal some men are like blows inflicted 
upon wild beasts, which, instead of taming, enrage 
them the more. Isaiah describes some incorrigible 
rebels as saying, in their pride and stoutness of heart, 
" The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with 
hewn stones ; the sycamores are cut down, but we will 
change them into cedars." And we read that Hiel, 
the daring re-builder of Jericho, not only disregarded 
the threatening of Joshua, but even when one half of 
it was fulfilled, he went on still in his trespasses, and 



Apeil 12. — Morning. 75 

having "laid the foundation thereof in Abiram, his 
first-born, set up the gates thereof in his youngest son 
Segub." Thus many, if not verbally, yet practically, 
express a determination to proceed in an evil course, 
notwithstanding obvious and repeated discourage- 
ments and checks thrown in their way. Ahab was 
reduced very low, "yet in the time of his distress did 
he trespass yet more against the Lord." And God 
brands him with infamy, that all future ages may 
know that this was the desperate wretch, who, when 
the Edomites, and the Philistines, and the Assyrians 
were upon him, even then he provoked a greater ad- 
versary than all, and would fight against God. " This 
is that king Ahab." And is even this a peculiar case ? 
Can nothing of this kind deservedly stigmatize you ? 
" This is the man wno, when desolated in his cir- 
cumstances, bereaved of his connections, and more 
than once the subject of disease, instead of humbling 
himself under the mighty hand of God, waxed worse 
and worse, and proceeded from evil to evil." 

But in a general way, when people come into 
trouble, they feel, feel seriously and softened. But 
what is the result? It is threefold. First — It often 
wears off, and the effect produced is like the morning 
cloud and early dew that passeth away. O what a dif- 
ference has there frequently been between the same 
persons in sickness and health! They "howled upon 
their beds." " They poured out a prayer when his 
chastening hand us iipon them." O "let my soul live 
and it shall praise thee," And " spare me a little long- 
er." "I will not offend any more." And they added 
to their prayer confessions, resolves, and vows. But 
no sooner were they raised up and set free, than they 
returned again to folly, and endeavoured to drive from 



76 April 12. — Morning. 

their minds the remembrance of what could only 
charge them with inconsistency, and clothe them with 
shame. Pharaoh after every plague cried, I have sin- 
ned; entreat the Lord for me; but when there was 
respite he hardened his heart. 

Secondly — As this softening is frequently transient, 
so it is sometimes fatal. It seems indeed wonderful 
that those who know nothing of the grace of God, 
should often bear their troubles as they do ; and that 
they are not always driven by the heavy pressure of 
anguish to distraction or despair. And so it is with 
not a few. They droop and sink in the day of adver- 
sity ; and are swallowed up of over much sorrow. 
They verify the words of the Apostle ; "The sorrow 
of the world worketh death " — It deprives them of 
reputation, subjects them to contempt, deprives them 
of support, preys upon their health, breaks down their 
spirits: and the sufferer gradually drops into the 
grave, or by self-destruction is hurried from the evils 
of time into those of eternity — for whatever he en- 
dured here was only the beginning of sorrows. Oh how 
desirable is it when the heart is wounded to apply to it 
the balm of Grilead ! and when it is softened to give it 
the impression of heaven ! And 

Thirdly — This is sometimes the case, and the heart 
by suffering is softened to purpose, and the man can 
say with David, "It is good for me that I have been 
afflicted." As therefore when I see the smith putting 
a bar of iron into the fire, I conclude he is going to 
work upon it, and form it for some useful purpose, 
which could not be done while it was cold and hard ; 
so I always look prayerfully and hopefully towards a 
man when the Lord brings him into trouble. Manas- 
seh in his distress sought the God of his father, and 



April 12. — Morning. 77 

found him. The famine made the Prodigal think of 
home, and he was starved back into a return. The 
Grecian said, I should have been lost had I not been 
lost. And there are those now living who can saj, I 
should have been poor had I not been impoverished. 
The darkening of my earthly prospects made me long 
after a better country, that is an heavenly. Ah ! hap- 
py unkindnesses and treacheries that said, " Trust ye 
not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide " — it 
was you that induced me to say, " Therefore will I look 
unto the Lord ; I will wait for the God of my salva- 
tion ; my God will 'hear me." Ah! vain world — 

" Your streams were floating me along, 
Down to the gulf of black despair ; 
And while I listened to your song, 
Your streams had e'en conveyed me there. 

" Lord, I adore thy matchless grace, 
That warn'd me of that dark abyss ; 
That drew me from these treacherous seas, 
And bid me seek superior bliss. 

" Now to the shining realms above, 

I stretch my hands, and glance mine eyes ; 
O for the pinions of a dove, 
To bear me to the upper skies I 

" There, from the bosom of my God, 
Oceans of endless pleasures roll — 
There would I fix my last abode, 
And drown the sorrows of my soul." 



78 April 12. — Evening. 



APRIL 12.— EVENING. 

" God maketh. my heart soft." Job xxiii. 16. 

There is a soft heart derived from renovation. 
Thus lie makes the heart soft, as the Grod of grace. 

Of this the Lord speaks in the new covenant — "I 
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and 
I will give you an heart of flesh." There cannot be a 
greater contrast than between these substances as to 
feeling — but the heart before conversion is stone ; and 
after conversion, flesh. Sin hardens the heart, and 
whatever tenderness there may be in it with regard to 
other things, it has none towards the things of the 
Spirit, till the renewing of the Holy Ghost. But when 
grace makes the heart soft, it will appear in the follow- 
ing effects. 

It will melt with sorrow for sin. Many are afraid 
of hell : but they are not affected with the sin that 
leads to it. Sin is the last thing some people think 
of; but it is the first thing with the penitent — "My 
sin is ever before me." And this is the case even in 
affliction, even then sin oppresses more than trouble. 
This is the burden too heavy for him to bear. After 
the loss of an only son, a good woman once said, 
" Under this loss I have shed many tears for my son, 
but many more for my sin." Thus Ephraim was 
heard bemoaning himself; and what was the subject 
of his complaint ? Not his suffering — but his incorri- 
gibleness under it : " Thou hast chastised me, and I 
was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke 
— I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did 
bear the reproach of my youth — Turn thou me and I 
shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God." And 



April 11. — Evening. 79 

what is the Divine promise? "I will pour upon the 
house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
the spirit of grace and of supplications : and they shall 
look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall 
mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and 
shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitter- 
ness for his first-born." And repentance never flows 
so freely, and we never so much sorrow after a godly 
sort, as when we are led to the cross and view the Sa- 
viour dying not only by us but for us. 

When the heart is made soft, it will be pliant to the 
word of truth. An instance of this is mentioned in 
the experience of Josiah — " Because thine heart was 
tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, 
when thou heardest ( what I spake against this place, 
and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should 
become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy 
clothes and wept before me ; I also have heard thee, 
saith the Lord." It is the general character of the sub- 
jects of Divine grace that they "tremble at his word." 
The sinner sits before among the threatenings of God, 
as Solomon sat among his twelve lions unalarmed be- 
cause they were dead. But faith enlivens them and 
makes them roar ; and he now cries, " What must I do 
to be saved ? " Yet we are not to imagine that he feels 
the Divine menaces only; the promises so exceed- 
ingly great and precious equally awaken his apprehen- 
sions. Oh ! says he, if I miss them and come short at 
last! How many feelings will the reading of one 
chapter, or the hearing of one sermon, excite in the 
soul of such a man ! The Bible is his only rule, and 
his only judge. He dares not trifle with its contents. 
He dares not question its declarations. He yields him- 
self to its authority without asking how can these 



80 April 12. — Evening. 

things be : and receives with meekness the engrafted 
word which is able to save the soul. 

If the heart be made soft, we shall be compassionate 
towards others. Are our fellow-creatures in penury ? 
We shall have bowels and mercies : and not say, Go 
in peace ; be ye warmed, and be ye filled ; while we 
give them not such things as are needful for the body. 
Are their souls desolate within them ? We shall weep 
with them that weep. Are they in ignorance? In 
meekness we shall instruct them. Have they fallen ? 
In meekness we shall endeavour to restore them : hat- 
ing the sin, but pitying the sinner. Have they offend- 
ed and injured us ? We shall not be revengeful or 
implacable ; but tender -hearted, forgiving one another 
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. 

Such a heart is also very sensible of the Divine good- 
ness. The man, instead of complaining of what he 
wants, wonders at what he possesses and enjoys. He 
feels that he is unworthy of the least of all His mercies. 
What claims have I upon Him ? I was a poor blind 
creature, but he has opened mine eyes. I was naked, 
and he clothed me. I was a child of wrath, and he has 
made me an heir of glory. What shall I render? 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 

A man whose heart God has made tender will be 
alive to his glory. He will mourn to hear his name 
blasphemed, and to see his Gospel despised. He will 
be sorrowful for the solemn assembly, and the reproach 
of it will be his burden. He will be holily fearful lest 
he should grieve his Holy Spirit, or cause the way of 
truth to be evil spoken of. His glory will touch eve- 
ry spring of action in his soul; and he will be daily 
asking the Lord what wilt thou have me to do ? 

O what a blessing is such a heart as this I It is bet- 



Apkil 13. — Morning. 81 

ter than thousands of gold and silver. It prepares for 
all the manifestations of Divine love ; and it insures 
them. 

Who feels a hard heart? The very feeling shews 
some sensibility. Who longs for a soft one? Let 
him ask of God, who is more ready to hear than we 
are to pray, and who "despiseth not the prayer of the 
destitute." 



APRIL 13.— MORNING. 

" Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that 
is in Christ Jesus." Rom. iii. 24. 

Here we have an answer to the most important and 
interesting of all inquiries — "How shall man be just 
with God?" 

To be justified is to be acquitted from the charge 
brought against us, and absolved from the condemna- 
tion with which we were threatened. With regard to 
us, the condemnation was deserved, and the charge 
was true. This renders the case so difficult and pecu- 
liar ; and calls for the Apostle's development. 

But, in exposing the source of the privilege, he 
seems to use a tautology — "Being justified freely by 
his grace." If it be done freely, it must be of grace : 
and if it be gracious, it must be free. Yet this is not 
saying too much. Paul knew that men were proud, 
and vain ; and that, as Simon Magus thought of pur- 
chasing the Holy Ghost with money, so they, in deal- 
ing with God about their souls, wish to be merchants 
rather than suppliants ; and would seem to buy, while 
they are compelled to beg. But, surely, if it be not 
saying too much, it is saying enough. Surely after 

4* 



82 Apkil 13. — Moening. 

this, the freeness and graciousness of the thing cannot 
be questioned. It is not only free and gracious, as 
opposed to constraint, but as opposed to worthiness. 
Merit in a sinner, is impossible — his desert lies all on 
the other side. There he is worthy — and worthy of 
death. A man, who asks a favour, may have no claim 
upon you ; but you may also have no demand upon 
him ; and, therefore, though you may justly refuse 
him, yet you have no right to apprehend, and punish 
him. But God had a right to punish, and destroy us ; 
and it is of his mercies that we are not consumed. It 
is also free and gracious, as opposed to desire. This is 
undeniable, with regard to the constitution and accom- 
plishment of the plan itself — for these long preceded 
even our being. But is it true, with regard to the ap- 
plication of it ? The Publican prayed, " God be mer- 
ciful to me a sinner :" and went down to his house 
justified. And you sought, and found. But what in- 
duced you to seek ? A sense of your want of the 
blessing. But how came you to feel this, after being 
so long insensible of it ? Hearing such a preacher. 
But who made this preacher, and sent him, and placed 
him in your way, and applied what he said to your 
heart ? — And the same may be asked with regard to 
any other instrumentality. Go as far back as you 
please ; when you arrive, you will find Him there be- 
fore you, with all his preparations and excitements; 
and will hear him say, as you approach, " Come, for 
all things are now ready." 

But the Apostle tells us of the medium of the pri- 
vilege — "Through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus." And it is obvious he did not deem this incon- 
sistent with the former. He knew that it was still 
freely by his grace. It was with God to determine 



Apeil 13. — Morning. 83 

whether the law should take its course, or the penalty 
be transferred to the surety : for the sentence was, 
" The soul that sinneth it shall die." It was, therefore, 
an instance of his sovereign grace to admit a substi- 
tute. Besides, if he required reparation, he himself 
provided the lamb for a burnt offering. Herein " God 
hath commended his love towards us, in that while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for us:" and hence the 
exclamation, " Herein is love ; not that we loved God, 
but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro- 
pitiation for our sins." "We have an illustration of this 
in the case of Job's friends. They had displeased 
God ; and yet he was willing that they should be re- 
conciled. He therefore ordered a proceeding that should 
be available: "Therefore take unto you now seven 
bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job,- 
and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering ; and my 
servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept: 
lest I deal with you after your folly." The sacrifice, 
and the intercession of Job, did not dispose God to 
shew them mercy, for he prescribed them ; but they 
were the way in which he chose to exercise it. And 
thus, "He laid on him the iniquities of us all." u He 
made him, who knew no sin, to be a sin-offering for us, 
that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
him." This redemption, therefore, is the effect of his 
goodness. He loved his own Son, because he laid 
down his life for us ; and highly exalted him, because 
he was obedient unto death, even the death of the 
Cross. 

We cannot say too much of God's mercy — this is the 
origin of all our hopes. But, surely, he had a right to 
determine the way in which it should be extended to- 
wards those who had no claims upon it : and of the 



84 April 13. — Morning. 

propriety of the way, both with regard to himself, and 
also with regard to us, he was the only competent 
judge. And, therefore, if he has appointed a way, and 
revealed it in his word ; ignorance, pride or rebellion, 
only, can lead us to oppose or neglect it ; and 
wretchedness and ruin must be the sure result of it. 
If we could not see the reasonableness of the dispen- 
sation, yet, if He has declared that it " became him," 
we should be bound to acquiesce and adore. But we 
can see that he has herein abounded towards us, in all 
wisdom and prudence ; that here, mercy and truth meet 
together, righteousness and peace kiss each other; 
that the law is magnified, and made honorable ; that 
sin is condemned in the flesh ; that God is just, while 
he justifies the ungodly who believeth in Jesus ; and 
that every end that could have been answered by the 
destruction of the sinner has been equally — better — 
infinitely better answered by the death of the Sa- 
viour. 

And now what wait we for ? We are accepted in 
the Beloved. Let us come in his Name. Let us 
draw near in full assurance of faith. Let us joy in 
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
have now received the atonement. And let us not 
conceal, but zealously and gladly make known the 
blessedness that has brought us into the glorious 
liberty of the sons of God. 



April 13.— Evening. 85 

april 13.— evening. 

"Upon one stone shall be seven eyes." Zech. iii. 9. 

The Lord Jesus is often called a stone ; and seldom 
without some attribute of distinction. Thus Peter 
calls him, "A living stone;" and Isaiah, " A tried stone, 
a precious corner stone, a sure foundation." And here 
the use of him is announced. He is the basis to sus- 
tain the complete salvation of the Church of God, which 
is his house; his temple. Of such a structure how 
great would be the fall ! The crash would be heard 
beyond the stars. But what can bear up for ever the 
weight of such an edifice ? Our worthiness, and works ? 
Our righteousness, and strength? Better would the 
sliding sand, the leaf of autumn, the down of the this- 
tle, support St. Paul's Cathedral, or one of the pyra- 
mids of Egypt, or the pillars of the earth. But He is 
infinitely equal to the importance of his station; and 
whoso believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 

But let us observe the notice He was to excite and 
engage — Upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Seven 
is not to be taken here literally. It is what the Jews 
call a perfect number; and is designed to indicate a 
great multitude. Thus God says, if ye walk contrary 
to me, I also will walk contrary to you, and will pun- 
ish you seven times for your iniquities ; that is, often 
and severely. Shall I forgive my brother, says Peter, 
until seven times ? 

Let us look at a little of the accomplishment. — The 
eye of God was upon him. . No finite understanding- 
can conceive the complacency He had in contemplat- 
ing him, while achieving the redemption of his people, 



86 April 13. — Evening. 

and finishing the work that was given him to do — "In 
whom," says He, "my soul delighteth." 

— We read of an innumerable company of angels — 
The eyes of these were upon him. He was seen of 
angels. They announced, and carolled his birth. The y 
ministered to him in the wilderness. 

" Through all his travels here below 
They did his steps attend ; 
Oft gaz'd and wonder'd where at last 
The scene of love would end. 

"Around the bloody tree 

They press'd, with strong desire 
That wond'rous sight to see — 

The Lord of Life expire : 
And, could their eyes have known a tear, 
Had dropp'd it there in sad surprise." 

— The eye of Satan was upon him. He watched 
him through life, hoping to make a prey of him, as he 
had done of the first Adam. But here was the Lord 
of heaven. And he found nothing in him. 

— The eyes of men were upon him. Simeon saw 
him, and wished to see nothing else. Blind Bartimseus 
saw him, and followed him in the way. Judas saw 
him closely, for three years, and confessed that he had 
betrayed innocent blood. Pilate saw him judicially, 
and said, I am pure from the blood of that just man. 
The Centurion watched him in death, and said, This 
man was the Son of God. And all the people that 
came together to that sight, beholding the things which 
were done, smote their breasts and returned. Mary, 
his mother, was standing by the cross — She saw him ; 
and what were her emotions when she viewed the 
head, that had oft reposed upon her bosom, fall upon 
his shoulder, and yielding up the ghost ! After his 



April 18. — Evening. 87 

resurrection, then were the disciples glad when they 
saw Ihe Lord. Have not I seen Christ ? says Paul : 
yes ; and even at mid-day he shone above the bright- 
ness of the sun. 

— And> how many thousands and millions have seen 
him since !— not with the eye of the body, but of the 
mind ; not with the eye of sense, but of faith. Indeed 
this is the grand essential: " He that seeth the Son and 
believeth on him, hath everlasting life." The one 
single design of the Gospel and all the ordinances of 
religion, is to bring the eyes of men to fix upon him ; 
for there is salvation in no other. He, therefore, cries, 
"Behold me! behold me!" Every minister endea- 
vours only to awaken attention to him, saying, with 
John, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away 
the sin of the world ! " 

— Ah ! Christians, it is your grief, not that you are 
so little known and regarded, but that so few eyes are 
upon him. But more are viewing him than you are 
aware of. And, soon, Jews shall look upon him whom 
they have pierced ; and Gentiles shall come to his 
light, and kings to the brightness of his rising. Yea, 
all kings shall fall down before him, and all nations 
shall serve him. 

— And, in another world, he is all in all. There he 
draws every eye, and employs every tongue. There 
his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his 
face, and his Name shall be on their forehead. Oh, glo- 
rious hope ! It doth not yet appear what we shall be • 
but this we know, that when he shall appear, we shall 
be like him : for we shall see him as he is. 



88 Apkil 14. — Morning. 



APRIL 14.— MORNING. 

"The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken 
in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among 
the heathen." Lam. iv. 20. 

The words are spoken of Zedekiah, the last king of 
Judah. And two things are to be noticed and improved. 
First, How his people regarded him — they called 
him "The breath of their nostrils." That is, he seem- 
ed as dear and necessary, as the air they respired. 
How prone are we to make too much of creatures ! 
To love them properly, is a duty ; to over- value them, 
is folly arid sin. Yet even Christians are in danger of 
this; according to the Apostle John — "Little chil- 
dren, keep yourselves from idols." And who can cast 
stones at Zedekiah's subjects? Is there no being who 
is the breath of our nostrils ? Have we never made 
flesh our arm ? Never said of a child, " This same 
shall comfort us " ? Never called gold our hope *? — 
What is all sin, but a departure from God : a transfer- 
ring of that fear, and confidence, and dependence, and 
homage to the creature, which are due to the Creator, 
God over all, blessed for evermore ? Eeligion is no- 
thing but a compliance with the demand — " My sod, 
give me thine heart." 

Secondly; observe how he disappointed them. 
They reposed their trust in him, and expected that 
under his empire they should enjoy security and hap- 
piness among the surrounding nations: ""We said of 
him, Under his shadow we shall live among the heath- 
en: but he was taken in their pits," — Alluding to his 
unsuccessful effort to escape, when Jerusalem was brok- 
en up: " all the men of war fled, and went forth out 
of the city by night by the way of the gate between 



Apkil 14. — Morning. 89 

the two walls, which, was by the King's garden : but 
the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and 
overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho : and all 
his army was scattered from him. Then they took the 
king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to 
Kiblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judg- 
ment upon him." Thus painfully were their hopes 
deceived; and their idol, instead of defending and 
blessing them, was himself bereaved, and blinded, and 
imprisoned for life: "And the king of Babylon slew 
the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes : he slew also all 
the princes of Judah in Eiblah. Then he put out the 
eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound 
him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put 
him in prison till the day of his death." Thus liable 
are we to disappointment, when we confide in crea- 
tures. " The inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully 
for good : but evil came down from the Lord unto the 
gate of Jerusalem." "Behold," says Hezekiah, "for 
peace I had great bitterness." 

The young are peculiarly exposed here, owing to 
their ignorance and inexperience. Yet the older are 
not always wise. But are we not the authors of our 
own disappointments? We disregard history, and 
observation, and the word of truth ; and look for that 
from creatures which they are neither designed nor 
able to afford. There is no assurance of the continu- 
ance of any earthly possessions or enjoyments: they 
are liable to outward violence : they are corruptible in 
their qualities ; they perish in the using. 

And there is not only a physical, but a moral un- 
certainty in their duration : for when we look to them 
rather than Grod, Grod will either take them away, 
that we may make him the only strength of our heart, 



90 April 14. — Morning, 

and our portion forever; or, if he leaves them, he 
will take away the comfort from them, and render 
them our rebukes. For, whatever we make the 
means of our forsaking or forgetting God, God will 
make the instrument of chastising us. We may 
therefore often read our sin in our sufferings ; and it 
will be well if the remnant of Israel no more shall 
stay upon him that smote them ; but shall stay upon 
the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 

Many have had reason to say, It is good for me 
that I have been afflicted. The dispensation that re- 
moved a creature introduced them to the God of all 
grace : and the Valley of Achor became the door of 
hope. And so it has been, not only in the com- 
mencement, but in the progress of the divine life. 
The Lord's people have been enriched by their world- 
ly losses ; and, in the failures of human dependences, 
they have taken a fresh hold of his arm, and said, "I 
will trust, and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is 
my strength and my song ; he also is become my sal- 
vation." A good man being observed to be as cheer- 
ful in adversity as he had been in prosperity, assigned 
as the reason — when I had everything about me, I 
enjoyed God in all; and now I have nothing, I enjoy 
all in God. And happy he, who, when he abounds, 
can say, with the poet, 

" To thee we owe our wealth and friends, 
Our health, and safe abode : 
Thanks to thy Name for meaner things ; 
But they are not my God :" 

And who, when he is abased, can say, with the Pro- 
phet ; "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither 
shall fruit be in the vines ; the labor of the olive 



April 14.— Evening. 91 

shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock 
shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no 
herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will 
joy in the God of my salvation." 

APRIL 14— EVENING. 
"The God of all comfort." 2 Cor. i. 3. 

How much, both as to duty and privilege, depends 
upon the views we entertain of "him with whom we 
have to do !" And while born to trouble as the 
sparks fly upward, and passing through a vale of 
tears, and feeling even in our best estate some heart's 
bitterness — for "full bliss is bliss divine;" what can 
be more encouraging and delightful than to regard him 
as "the God of all comfort?" 

And how well does he deserve this beneficent title ! 
Every comfort we have in the creature is from him. 
If sleep comforts us when we are weary, or food com- 
forts us when we are hungry, it is from his goodness. 
If, when he sendeth abroad his ice like morsels and 
none can stand before his cold, we have houses to de- 
fend us, raiment to cover us, fuel to warm us, it is 
from him. "When the spring returns, Whose sun 
calls us to go forth into the fields and garden ? Who 
regales all our senses? Who charms the ear with 
these melodies ? the eye with these colors ? the smell 
with these perfumes? and the appetite with these 
tastes? Who gives us those benign, and joyous, and 
grateful sensations which we feel when the lambs 
sport themselves ? and the apple-tree is dressed among 
the trees of the wood ? and the hay appeareth ? and 
the full corn waves in the ear ? and the reaper fills 
his hand, and he that bindeth sheaves his bosom ? and 



92 April 14. — Evening. 

the little Mils rejoice on every side? and the year is 
crowned with his goodness ? 

Who has not by accident or disease been confined 
to the chamber of weariness and pain ; and who by 
the sympathies, attentions, and soothings of the ten- 
derest friendship has comforted you upon the bed of 
languishing, and made all your bed in your sickness ? 
And who when the graves were ready for you, and 
you said, I shall behold man no more with the inha- 
bitants of the world, who comforted you by the return 
of ease, the re-glowing of health, the renewal of your 
strength, the resumption of your liberty — so that all 
your bones said, "Who is a God like unto thee?" 

Has a friend like ointment and perfume rejoiced 
your heart by the sweetness of his counsel ? or has a 
minister been the helper of your faith and joy ? The 
Lord gave him the tongue of the learned, that he 
should know how to speak a word in season to him 
that is weary. Grod comforted you by the coming of 
Titus. 

The heathen made idols of every thing that afforded 
them relief and comfort; and thus they loved and 
served the creature more than the Creator. Let us not 
resemble them. Whatever may be the medium of our 
comfort, Grod is the only source of it. Thus the in- 
strument, instead of seducing us from Grod, will be a 
conductor to him ; and the stream will lead us to " the 
fountain of life." God will not give his glory to an- 
other ; and we cannot affront him more than by sub- 
stituting any thing in the place of him. This will pro- 
voke him to strike the idol that robs him of his praise 
out of the way : or cause him by disappointing us in 
the moment of application to say, "Am I in God's 
stead ? If the Lord help thee not, whence should I 



Apjril 14. — Evening. 93 

help thee?" If we will not make him our trust, he 
will make that whereon we lean to smite us. He can 
take comfort out of all our possessions and enjoyments, 
so that in the midst of our sufficiency we shall be in 
straits, and with cheerfulness on every side walk in 
silence and sadness, like a ghost among the tombs. 
What Job calls his friends, " physicians of no value," 
"miserable comforters," will apply to all our depend- 
ences and expectations separate from God. Even in 
laughter the heart will be sorrowful. Our successes, 
like the quails of the Jews, will poison us while they 
gratify : our prosperity will destroy us : and at the end 
of our days the fool and the wretch will acknowledge 
the truth of Jonah's confession, " They that observe 
lying vanities forsake their own mercies ; salvation is 
of the Lord." 

True comfort is to be found in God only ; in the 
hope of his mercy ; in the evidence of his friendship ; 
in the freedom of his service ; in the comforts of the 
Holy Ghost. But they who seek it in him shall not 
be confounded. He has insured to those who flee for 
refuge to this hope strong consolation, by a promise 
confirmed by an oath ; and what he promises he is 
able to perform. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. 
No depth of distress is below his reach. He can create 
comfort when there is nothing to derive it from. He 
can extract it out of the most unlikely materials. He 
can bring order out of confusion, strength out of weak- 
ness, light out of darkness. 

Sufferer ! think of Him ! It is his prerogative and 
delight to " comfort them that are cast down." Why 
should you faint or despond ? Are the consolations 
of God small with thee? Does not He say, " I, even 
I, am he that comforteth thee ?" 



94 April 15. — Morning. 

Lord, I believe : help thou my unbelief. " Thou, 
which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt 
quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from 
the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my great- 
ness, and comfort me on every side." 



APRIL 15.— MORNING. 
" Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled." Matt. xxvL 56. 

Let as look at this lamentable fact, in connexion 
with the disciples, the Saviour, and ourselves. 

— With regard to the disciples, it shews us their weak- 
ness and depravity. They fled, from fear ; but their 
fear was needless. He had stipulated for their safety, 
when he surrendered himself in the Garden : "If 
therefore ye seek me, let these go their way ; that the 
saying might be fulfilled, Of them which Thou hast 
given me, I have lost none." They were under great 
obligations to him. He had done much for them in 
calling them by his grace, and dignifying them with 
the Apostleship. And he was now going to bleed and 
die for them. And they had professed a great attach- 
ment to him : for when Peter said, Though I should 
die with thee, I will not deny thee ; so said all the 
disciples. Yet they all forsook him, and fled ! Lord, 
what is man 1 

Yet this culpable cowardice was overruled for good. 
For their very declension made their witness, after his 
resurection, the more unexceptionably credible; and 
the weakness of their faith has proved the strength- 
ening of ours. They were not persons of hasty belief. 
They had doubted, and for the time abandoned the 



Apeil 15. — Morning. 95 

cause, saying, " We trusted it had been He which 
should have redeemed Israel :" and were repairing to 
their former homes and callings. What could have 
rallied them, and brought them back, and inspired 
them with courage to go forth, and bear reproach, and 
persecution, and death, and his ISTame, but a conviction 
that nothing could resist ? 

— With regard to the Saviour, this was a part, and 
a very trying part, of his abasement and passion. A 
friend is born for adversity. Then his presence, his 
sympathy, his countenance, is peculiarly desirable and 
necessary. Common humanity says, To him that is 
afflicted, pity should be shewed of his friend — But he 
looked for some to take pity, and there was none, and 
for comforter, and he found none. These men had 
been three years with him : they could have borne wit- 
ness to his freedom from sedition ; his innocency ; his 
piety. They could have cheered him by their standing 
at his side ; and their determination to suffer with him. 
But one betrayed him ; another denied him ; and all 
forsook him, and fled. Behold, and see, if ever there 
was sorrow like unto his sorrow ! — Yet he foresaw and 
foretold this : " The hour cometh, and is now come, that 
ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall 
leave me alone." This enhanced his anguish. He 
suffered in the apprehension, as well as in the reality. 
But it also enhanced his love. He was not drawn into 
any part of his suffering by ignorance or surprise — he 
knew all — all was before him — but he turned not his 
back. 

— With regard to ourselves, it may teach us not to 
sink, or wonder, if we should be deserted by those 
from whom we had reason to look for better things. 
Did not one tell David, " Behold, Ahithophel is among 



96 Apjjil 15. — Evening. 

the conspirators with Absalom !" And did not he 
groan — " It was not an enemy that reproached me ; 
then I could have borne it : neither was it he that 
hated me that did magnify himself against me : then 
I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, 
a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 
We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the 
house of God in company" ? Did not Job complain, 
" My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and 
as the stream of brooks they pass away ; which are 
blackish by reason of the ice and wherein the snow is 
hid : what time they wax warm, they vanish ; when 
it is hot, they are consumed out of their place " ? Did 
not Paul say — " At my first answer, no man stood by 
me, but all men forsook me— I pray God that it may 
not be laid to their charge" ? Above all, " lest ye be 
wearied and faint in your minds," consider the Lord 
Jesus. Is the servant above the master ? or the dis- 
ciple above his Lord ? 



APRIL 15.— EVENING. 

" Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not thy Holy 
Spirit from me." Psalm 1L 11. 

We may see what David prized by what he de- 
precates. There were many calamities at the thought 
of which his heart might have trembled. He could 
remember how God for his disobedience had punished 
his predecessor Saul, and had rent the kingdom from 
him. He knew how God by Nathan had threatened 
himself ; and he could not help feeling the announce- 
ment, that the child should die and the sword never 
depart from his house. Yet he does not say, Oh, let me 
escape the rod — do not deprive me of my throne — or 



Apkil 15. — Evening. 97 

involve my family in trouble and disgrace. This is 
what many would have implored. But David prays, 
'•* Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me." They that are after the 
flesh do mind the things of the flesh : and thus it is 
with men of the world ; they are satisfied as long as 
their friends and health, their corn and wine, abound. 
Tell them of the hidni^ of Grod's countenance, and the 
loss of the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and they know 
not your meaning, and are ready to treat you with 
scorn or pity. They judge of every thing by a falla- 
cious standard. " Evil men understand not judg- 
ment : but they that seek the Lord understand all 
things." They weigh, every claim in the balance of 
the sanctuary. They walk by faith and not by sight. 
No evils therefore appear to them like those which re- 
gard the welfare of the soul and eternity. 

And their judgment is founded in truth. The 
most awful evils are spiritual evils. And these are 
more peculiar to the dispensation under which, we live. 
Temporal judgments were common under the law, 
when offenders were often punished immediately, 
sensibly, visibly. We see this in the case of Lot's 
wife, Miriam, Uzzah, and many others recorded in the 
Old Testament. But under the Grospel inflictions are 
more spiritual. Here men are given up to a hard 
heart, a reprobate mind, a seared conscience ; to vile 
affections ; to strong delusion ; to believe a lie. The 
spirit of slumber falls upon them. The word and or- 
dinances of religion become barren and unprofitable. 
By the fascinations of error they are so bewitched that 
they cannot obey the truth. Yet they are easy. For 
these are judgments that do not alarm ; it is the very 
nature of them to stupify. Oh ! it would be a thou- 

5 



98 Apkil 15. — Evening. 

sand times better to lose all your substance and beg 
your bread from door to door ; a thousand times bet- 
ter to be robbed of health, and never enjoy another 
hour of ease ; than for God thus to punish you. And 
though you will not and ought not to pray for suffer- 
ings absolutely, if you are like-minded with David, 
you will be willing that God should deal with you in 
any way rather than say, " He is joined to idols, let 
him alone " — And this will be your most earnest 
prayer: "Cast me not away from thy presence; and 
take not thy Holy Spirit from me." 

But was David in danger of this? We do not like to 
get rid of an apparent difficulty by denying a revealed 
truth. And such appears to us the doctrine of the 
final perseverance of the saints. We are therefore con- 
fident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good 
work in them will perform it until the day of Jesus 
Christ. Yet, first, the effect deprecated may take place 
in a measure and degree. God was provoked to leave 
Hezekiah in the business of the ambassadors of Baby- 
lon, and it shewed what was in his heart. And God 
may be so grieved as to suspend the comforts of the 
Holy Ghost, and all joy and peace in believing. And, 
secondly, by yielding to temptation, a partaker of Di- 
vine grace may be reduced to such a state of darkness, 
and horror, and anguish, as to apprehend God's entire 
abandonment of him for ever. This was David's case. 
His fall had broken his bones, closed his lips, deprived 
him of the joy of God's salvation, and made him fear 
that he was cut off from before his eyes. 

Such an evil and bitter thing is it to sin against God. 
So surely will our backslidings reprove us. If his 
children Avalk not in my judgments, then will I visit 
their transgression with the rod. Nevertheless my 



Apkil 16. — Morning. 99 

lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor 
suffer my faithfulness to fail. The way to walk com- 
fortably is to walk consistently. I am always sorry to 
see some professors so calm and happy as they are. 
With their levity of temper, and vain conversation, 
and worldly conformities, and neglect of the means of 
grace — were they the Lord's people, surely he would 
shew that they are not walking so as to please him. 
Them that honour me, I will honour. Blessed is the 
man that feareth always. 



APRIL 16.— MORNING. 

"I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you." 

John xiv. 18. 

These tender words are part of our Saviour's fare- 
well address to his disciples, immediately after the 
Holy Supper. 

We see in them his kindness. These disciples had 
shewn many defects, and had very little improved any 
of their advantages ; but loving his own who were in 
the world, he loved them unto the end. They were 
now going to prove themselves very unworthy : and 
he foresaw, and foretold, what, according to their 
present views and feelings, seemed perfectly incredible 
to themselves — that they would all forsake him in the 
hour of trial, notwithstanding their obligations and 
professions. They were going to leave him comfort- 
less, as far as it depended upon them ; and to induce 
him to complain — "I looked for some to take pity, 
and there was none, and for comforter, and I found 
none." But — much as they deserved it — U I will not," 
says he, "leave you comfortless." " I will"' — not to 



100 April 16. — Morning. 

punish or upbraid, but to relieve and encourage — "I 
will come to you." 

Here, also, we perceive his greatness. When we are 
going away from our connexions to some distant place, 
we may speak of our return ; but it must be condition- 
ally. We are not sure of the event ; it does not de- 
pend upon us ; and we ought always to say, " If the 
Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that." But when 
we die, we know our return is impossible ; and our 
friends know it, and weep most of all that they will 
see our faces no more. The dying pastor cannot say to 
his anxious flock, I will not leave you comfortless : I 
will come to you, and again feed you with the Bread 
of Life. The dying father cannot say to his family, 
mourning around his bed, I will come again and pro- 
vide for you. One of the most touching circumstances 
in the beautiful lines of Cowper, on his mother's pic- 
ture, is the delusion employed to comfort him — 

" Thy maidens, grieved themselves at my concern, 
Oft gave me promise of thy quick return — 
What ardently I wish'd I long believ'd ; 
And, disappointed still, was still deceived. 
By disappointment every day beguiled, 
Dupe of to-morrow even from a child — 
Thus many a sad to-morrow came and went, 
Till, all my stock of infant sorrow spent, 
I learn'd at last submission to my lot ; 
But though I less deplored thee, ne'er forgot." 

And — the same lesson we must all learn with regard to 
every dear delight we here enjoy The departing Jo- 
seph said unto his brethren, "I die; and God will 
surely visit you !" He does not say, I will visit you — 
he knew he was going the way whence he could not 
return. But Divinit}^ here speaks, as well as friend- 



April 16. — Morning. 101 

ship. " I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come 
to you." This is the language, not only of foreknow- 
ledge, but of sovereign dominion : the language of one 
who had the keys of hell, and of death : of one who said, 
No man taketh my life from me ; I lay it down of my- 
self — I have power to lay it down, and I have power 
to take it again. Even death would not interrupt his 
goodness. His entering another world would not af- 
fect his intercourse with his people in this. His pre- 
sence with them was not confined to his bodily 
residence. While on earth, he said, "The Son of man 
who is in heaven." And now, though in heaven, he 
is no less on earth. Lo! said he, I am with you al- 
way, even unto the end of the world. 

— And can we help perceiving, here, how indis- 
pensable he is to the happiness of his people ? The 
disciples were comfortless in the view of his absence ; 
and it is easy to account for this, both from their attach- 
ment to him, and from the pleasure and profit they 
had derived from him. We feel, and tremble, and 
groan, at parting with a friend, or relation. What 
must the feelings of the disciples have been, at the 
thought of losing him ! They would be left in the 
world, like sheep without their shepherd; like tra- 
vellers in a wilderness, without their guide ; like 
orphans, bereaved of the father's care, and the 
mother's bosom. And what could comfort them, but 
the promise of himself again. ? Had he said, I will not 
leave you comfortless, I will send you riches, and 
honours ; princes shall be your friends, and angels 
your servants — what would all this have been, with- 
out the assurance, "i" will come to you " ? But this 
is sufficient. Here is a resource equal to the exigency ; 
a consolation adequate to all the distress. 



102 April 16. — Evening. 

The good found in creatures is always finite, and 
very limited. It is also much dispersed, so that we 
must apply to many, to contribute their part to make 
up one comfort. The happiness we derive from 
creatures is like a beggar's garment — it is made up of 
pieces and patches, and is worth very little after all. 
But the blessedness we derive from the Saviour is 
single, and complete. In him all fulness dwells. He 
is coeval Avith every period. He is answerable to 
every condition. He is a physician, to heal ; a coun- 
sellor, to plead ; a king, to govern ; a friend, to sym- 
pathize; a father, to provide. He is a foundation, to 
sustain; a root, to enliven; a fountain, to refresh. 
He is the shadow from the heat ; the bread of life ; 
the morning star ; the sun of righteousness — all, and 
in all. No creature can be a substitute for him ; but 
he can supply the place of every creature. He is all 
my salvation, and all my desire. My hope, my peace, 
my life, my glory, and joy. 

Whom have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is 
none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh 
and my heart faileth ; but Thou art the strength of 
my heart, and my portion for ever. I cannot be ex- 
posed ; I cannot be friendless ; I cannot be poor ; I 
cannot be fearful ; I cannot be sorrowful — with Thee. 

" If thou, ray Jesus, still art nigh, 
Cheerful I live, and cheerful die ; 
Secure, when mortal comforts flee, 
To find ten thousand worlds in Thee," 

APEIL 16.— EVENING. 
"Ye were as sheep going astray." 1 Pet. ii. 25. 

The words seem to be, if not a quotation from, yet 
an allusion to the language of Isaiah — "AH we like 



April 16.— Evening. 103 

sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one 
to his own way." If there be truth in this supposition, 
two things are asserted by the Prophet whieh are not 
repeated by the Apostle. The one is, the universality 
of the charge — All we like sheep have gone astray. 
There is no difference between Jew and Greek. The 
Scripture has proved all under sin. The other is, the 
diversification of the depravity — We have turned every 
one to his own way. Though all are guilty, each has 
some particular iniquity to which he is attached, by his 
constitutional complexion or his outward circum- 
stances. And here it is that many are deluded. They 
flatter themselves by comparison, and are satisfied 
because they are free from some crimes chargeable 
upon others ; not considering that they also are wan- 
derers, only in another Toad. A straight line is always 
the same ; but there are millions of crooked ones. 
There was only one ark by which any could be saved ; 
but there were numberless abysses in which they could 
be drowned. Nothing, says a good writer, is more 
lamentable, than to hear people who are all wrong 
disputing among themselves which is right. Yet 
this is common. But the lover of pleasure and the 
lover of gold ; the profligate and the pharisaical ; the 
open offender and the close hypocrite ; the superstitious 
Papist and the formal Protestant, are all in the same 
con dition with regard to their safety. Let us remember 
that the Scripture is our only rule of judgment, and 
that it matters not what we think of ourselves, or 
others think of us — if we are destitute of faith in 
Christ and true holiness. "He that believeth not the 
Son hath not life ;" and, '- without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord." 

The words are a metaphor ; a metaphor often used 



104 Apkil 16. — Evening. 

by the sacred writers, and therefore just and pertinent. 
Indeed nothing can be more significant of the danger 
and misery of a sinner than a strayed sheep. The 
welfare of the sheep depends on the care of the shep- 
herd. If they wander beyond his protecting arm, 
they are liable to be destroyed by beasts of prey, or if 
they leave his pasturage they are likely to perish for 
want of food : for though they can go astray of them- 
selves, they cannot defend themselves nor provide 
for themselves, or of themselves rind their way back. 
They are therefore lost unless sought after. The 
metaphors of the Scripture, however, though strong 
in their allusion, are often only partial. But they are 
more forcible by being limited ; for by stretching a 
comparison to reach every thing, we weaken it as 
well as render it ridiculous. Sheep in going astray 
are not guilty; but they would be criminal, and de- 
serving all they suffered, if they were possessed of rea- 
son, and after having been under the superintendence 
of the kindest shepherd, and allowed to want no good 
thing, they should knowingly abandon him, and wil- 
fully incur every kind of peril and wretchedness. And 
is not this the emblem of our conduct ? Did not God 
make man upright? Did not the inspiration of the 
Almighty give him understanding? Was he not 
placed in a condition of safety, peace, and happiness ? 
"Was he not fenced in by Divine commands ? apprized 
of the consequences of going astray? and warned 
against them ? — Yet astray he went ! 

And thus we reach the fact which the words were 
intended to express— the natural state of men as 
alienated from the life of God — They are as sheep 
going astray. They go astray from their duty to God. 
Thus they forsake him as their Lord and owner. As 



April 16. — Evening. 105 

lie made them, and gave them all their powers, pos- 
sessions, and enjoyments, they are bound to serve and 
obey him : but they prefer their own will to his au- 
thority, and live in the violation of his laws which are 
all holy, and just, and good. They go astray from 
their happiness in God. Thus they forsake him as 
their portion, following after rest and satisfaction apart 
from the Supreme good. All wish for happiness ; but 
where do they naturally seek it ? In the pleasures of 
sin, in the dissipations of the world, in science, fame, 
riches, power, friendship. They do not seek it in the 
favour, the image, the presence, the service of God. 
They wish to be happy without God. They ask, 
"Who will shew us any good? 1 ' but do not pray, 
" Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon 
us" — If ever they 'go to God, it is when fear or affliction 
urges them. Do they delight themselves in the 
Almighty ? Do they always call upon God ? They 
go astray from their recovery by God. Thus they 
forsake him as their Saviour ; who, instead of abandon- 
ing themrwhen they departed from him, remembered 
them in their low estate, and provided means the most 
suitable and adequate for their restoration. He 
spared not his own Son, but gave him up as a propi- 
tiation for their sins. He sends them the Gospel ; 
beseeches them by his ministers ; and urges the message 
by a thousand motives — But they make light of it: 
they turn away from him that speaketh, and neglect 
so great salvation. Yea they oppose it ; and if ever 
they think of returning to God it is by a way of their 
own devising in preference to his. They go about to 
establish their own righteousness instead of submitting 
themselves to the righteousness which is of God ; and 
act in their own strength instead of being strong in the 
5* 



106 April 17. — Morning. 

grace that is in Christ Jesus ; thus frustrating him in 
his greatest design, and robbing him of his highest 
glory. 

Reflect upon each of these : and remember, Chris- 
tian, this was once your own state. Look back ; and 
acknowledge that ye yourselves also were ouce foolish 
and disobedient. But after this the lovingkindness of 
Grod our Saviour towards you appeared. If you are 
justified, you were once condemned: if alive, you 
were once dead : if found, you were once lost. How 
happy that you can be addressed as those who were 
once going astray, but are now returned to the Shep- 
herd and Bishop of your souls ! 



APRIL 17.— MORNING. 

"Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of 
hosts." Zech. iii. 9. 

This is spoken of the stone, upon which were to 
be seven eyes, and which intends the Messiah, the 
foundation laid in Zion. 

To engrave, is to pierce and cut. When he became 
a man of sorrows ; when he said, Eeproach hath 
broken my heart; when he gave his back to the 
smiters, and his cheek to them that plucked off the 
hair ; when the crown of thorns entered his temples, 
and the nails his hands and feet, and the spear his 
side — then, O my soul, was this Scripture fulfilled. 

As there is no engraving without wounding, so to 
engrave is to embellish and beautify. And he was 
made perfect through suffering. Hence, "I do 
cures, " said he, " to-day and to-morrow, and the third 
day I shall be perfected. " Hence he calls the season 



April 17. — Morning. 107 

of his passion the hour in which he was to be " glori- 
fied." Hence he adds, " Now is the judgment of this 
world ; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all 
men unto me. " And the richest displa}^ of his 
graces ; and the acquirement of the dispensation of 
the Spirit; and the dominion he exercises in our 
nature ; and the prerogative of judging the world in 
righteousness ; and the praises he will inhabit through 
eternal ages — all these resulted from his sufferings, 
according to the language of Divine prophecy, and 
history — " When thou shalt make his soul an offering 
for sin, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of 
the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of 
the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied : by his 
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; 
for he shall bear their iniquities. " " Because he was 
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, there- 
fore Grod hath exalted him, and given him a name 
above every name." 

And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are 
heavenly. To a. person unacquainted with the pro- 
cess, the pruning of the tree ; the cleaving of the 
ground with the ploughshare ; the operation of the 
chisel on the stone ; would look like an effort to in- 
jure or destroy. But view the thing afterwards. 
Behold the vine, adorned with purple clusters. Sur- 
vey the field, yielding the blade, the ear, the full corn 
in the ear. Examine the carved work when the 
sculptor has achieved his design, and fixed it in the 
proper place! 

— Christians are sometimes perplexed, and discour- 
aged, because of their trials. They know not what 
God is doing with them. They fear he is angry ; and 



108 April 17. — Evening. 

going to crush and destroy. But they are his work- 
manship. He is preparing them for their destination 
in the temple of his grace. These trials are applied 
to qualify and advance them. They will only per- 
fect that which concerneth them. Howard was taken 
by the enemy and confined in prison. There he 
learned the heart of a captive : and this experience 
originating in his suffering, excited and directed his 
thoughts, and led him into all his extraordinary 
course of usefulness and fame. It is good for me, 
says David, that I have been afflicted. I know, says 
Paul, that this shall turn to my salvation. For our 
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh 
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory. 

APRIL 17.— EVENING. 
"He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified." Heb. ii. 11. 

The Apostle here speaks of Christ and of Chris- 
tians as concerned in the same work, but differently 
concerned. He is the agent, they are the subjects — 
He sanctifieth, and they are sanctified. We are not 
however to suppose that in this work they are pas- 
sive ; or that he acts upon them as a mechanic oper- 
ates upon stone and wood, which are insensible and 
unconscious of the process. He does not sanctify 
them without their knowledge, and consent, and 
choice, and exertion. According to his good pleasure 
he works in them to will and to do. He makes them 
the instruments as well as the subjects ; and so en- 
gages them, that the work is represented as their work 
as well as his. Hence it is enjoined, as well as pro- 
mised, and we are called upon to cleanse ourselves 



Apeil 17. — Evening. 109 

from all filthiness of flesh, and spirit ; and are assured 
that he who has the hope of Christ in him purifieth 
himself even as he is pure. 

But there is no inconsistency here. We believe, 
but he enables us to believe. We exercise repent- 
ance, but he gives us repentance unto life. We bear 
the fruit, but it is the fruit of the Spirit, and in him is 
all our fruit found — and therefore we are called trees 
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may 
be glorified. 

To sanctify, admits of two imports. The first is 
separation or setting apart from common to sacred use. 
Thus the tabernacle and all the vessels of the sanctu- 
ary under the law were sanctified. No change took 
place in their qualities, but only in their appropriation 
and use — They were sanctified by consecration. And 
there are some who contend that in this sense only we 
are sanctified by the purpose of God. To plead for a 
real change of nature, for a growth, in grace, or for any 
thing in ourselves, though, not derived from ourselves, 
is legal, genders to bondage, and obscures the glory of 
the Gospel. So it was always. Jude tells us of un- 
godly men who turn the grace of our God into lasci- 
viousness : and James mentions those who relied on 
a faith, without works, and which was dead being- 
alone. This sense of sanctification indeed applies to 
the people of God, but it involves another. "The 
Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself." 
"God hath from the beginning chosen them to salva- 
tion, through sanctification of the Spirit, .and belief of 
the truth." 

The second meaning therefore is renovation — Hence 
we read of being renewed in the spirit of our minds ; 



110 April 17. — Evening. 

of being made partakers of the Divine nature, having 
escaped the pollutions of the world through lust. 
There is a real operation in all the subjects of Divine 
grace which delivers them from the power of darkness ; 
and destroys the love of sin, and renders true holiness 
their delight and pursuit. Paul therefore says, " Be 
ye transformed by the renewing of the mind, that ye 
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and per- 
fect will of God" — The latter depends upon the for- 
mer. "We cannot be consecrated to God till we are 
renovated. The reason is, that by nature we are de- 
praved, and have no love to God or concern to please 
him. But when this Divine change takes place, then 
what God purposed is actually exemplified, and we 
dedicate ourselves to him, considering ourselves as no 
longer our own, and using all we are, and all we have, 
to his service and in his praise. 

Hence sanctification is more than natural amiable- 
ness, outward reformation, and mere morality. Mo- 
rality does not include holiness : but holiness includes 
morality, and makes provision for it in the surest and 
noblest way. 

Sanctification too is not confined to any particular 
faculty, but extends to the whole nature of man. We 
read of being sanctified wholly, body, soul, and spirit. 
The work is not finished in any part, but it is begun 
in every part. There is a difference between the ope- 
rations of art and of life. The progress of the former 
is successional, the latter simultaneous. The painter 
or the sculptor while advancing one part of the pic- 
ture or the statue leaves for the time the rest ; but in 
a flower and a tree the whole goes on at once towards 
maturity. The child is not a man, but he has all the 



Apkil 18. — Morning. Ill 

lineaments and faculties, and though they are imper- 
fect, they grow together to manhood in due time — 
So it is with the Christian. 

How defective are they in their religious views and 
concerns who do not look to the Lord Jesus as the 
Sanctifier as well as the Redeemer ! If I wash thee 
not, says he, thou hast no part in me. Without holi- 
ness no man shall see the Lord. 



APRIL 18.— MORNING. 

"Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is 
like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of 
meal, till the whole was leavened." Matt. xiii. 33. 

We may consider the kingdom of heaven, as in- 
tending the empire of the Gospel in the world; and 
also the empire of grace in the heart. 

Let us confine our attention to the latter. 

The leaven in the meal is a foreign importation. It 
is not naturally in the meal, nor derived from it. It 
is the same with Divine grace. Though it resides in 
us, it does not arise from us : for in our natural state 
dwelleth no good thing — It is altogether a new pro- 
duction ; and so alien is it from the man himself, who 
is the subject of it, that the introduction of the prin- 
ciple occasions a ferment, or contest, that lasts for life 
■ — the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit 
against the flesh. 

The leaven in the meal is active and operating. 
There it works; and evinces its residence by its 
agency. And the grace of God — Is this a dead, power- 
less thing? Is it a notion? Or a principle? We 
read of the work of faith ; the labour of love ; the 



112 Apkil 18.— Mokning. 

patience of hope. The same may be said of repent- 
ance : " What carefulness it wrought in yon ; yea, what 
zeal! yea, what revenge!" I will shew thee, says 
James, my faith by my works : I will shew thee the 
sun, by its shining ; and the spring, by the streams. 
Faith justifies the soul; but works justify faith, and 
prove it to be of the operation of God. 

The leaven is assimilating. It converts ; it changes 
— not by destroying the substance of the meal, but 
altering the quality ; communicating its own property, 
tincture, relish. It is the same here. We are trans- 
formed by the renewing of the mind. The man re- 
mains physically the same as he was before : the same 
in his relations, talents, condition, business — Yet he is 
another man; a, new man. He is evangelized. He 
has something of the holy and heavenly nature of 
divine truth in him. If the grace of God be light, it 
enlightens him. If salt, it seasons him. If glory, it 
glorifies him. If leaven, it leavens him. 

The operation of the leaven is gradual. The effect 
in the meal is not produced at once ; but by degrees. 
And do we not read of being renewed day by day ? of 
going from strength to strength? of being changed 
into the same image, from glory to glory ? The work 
would want the evidence of analogy, if it were instan- 
taneous. In the family we see children becoming 
young men ; and young men becoming fathers. In 
the field, we see, first the blade, then the ear, and after 
that the full corn in the ear. Some are not sensible 
of their religious advancement ; and the reason is, they 
judge by the growing, rather than by the growth. The 
one escapes us ; the other is perceptible. 

Were you to stand by the side of the most rapidly 
growing plant, you would not see it grow ; but you 



April 18. — Evening. 113 

would see when it was grown. Thus judge your- 
selves, and see whether there is not an increase in your 
convictions of sin, and the vanity of the world, and 
the preciousness of the Saviour. Thus look at your 
dispositions ; your dependence ; your taste, your dili- 
gence ; your self-denial, in the service and ways of 
G-od. 

The influence of the leaven is diffusive. Com- 
mencing from the centre, it reaches, in due time, to 
the extremities, and penetrates every particle of the 
meal. The grace of God is lodged in the heart ; but 
it is not confined there. It reaches all the powers of 
the man's mind, and all the senses of his body. It 
enters all his situations, and circumstances in life. It 
affects him in the field ; in the shop, in the family ; 
in all his connexions ; in all his civil and common 
actions ; and whether he eats or drinks, or whatever 
he does, he does all to the glory of God. 

. — And, as the leaven ultimately attains its object, 
and leavens the whole — so here the issue of the grace 
of God will be universal and complete holiness. It 
will sanctify us wholly — body, soul, and spirit. It- 
will perfect that which concerneth us. And the re- 
sult is sure, even now. How small soever the leaven 
is, compared with the mass, the less will prevail, and 
subdue the greater. The dawn will chase away the 
night, and blaze in full day. He which hath begun a 
good work, will perform it : let us not despise, there- 
fore, the day of small things, either in ourselves or 
others. 

APRIL 18.— EVENING. 

" Casting all your care upon liim." 1 Pet. v. 7 

To understand this injunction two remarks will be 
necessary. 



114 April 18. — Evexixg. 

First, the Apostle refers to cares pertaining to the 
life that now is. As to the affairs of the life to come, 
we are not only permitted but required to be careful. 
Yea, we are commanded to " seek first," that is, before 
all other things, "the kingdom of God and his right- 
eousness." And it is to enable us to pursue these ob- 
jects in a manner becoming their importance, that 
other cares are forbidden. Yet, 

Secondly, the Apostle does not design, even in tem- 
poral interests, to dispense with a wise use of meaus 
and a strict attention to duty. For these are encour- 
aged in other parts of Scripture, and every word of 
God is pure. "The hand of the diligent makethfat." 
" The prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth him- 
self; but the simple pass on and is punished." "Go 
to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be 
wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 
provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her 
food in the harvest." Hence also the general caution : 
"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine ej^elids 
look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, 
and let all thy ways be established." If professors of 
religion therefore, under a notion of casting all their 
care upon the Lord, neglect exertion, refuse oppor- 
tunities of improving their condition, and in their ex- 
penses exceed their income, they are tempting God 
but not trusting in him. And Paul, a very compas- 
sionate man, made no scruple to enjoin, "If any will 
not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that 
there are some which walk among you disorderly, 
working not at all, but are busy-bodies. Row them 
that are such we command and exhort by our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat 
their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in 



Apkil 18. — Evening. 115 

well doing." Jacob had to meet his brother Esau 
who was coming towards him in the fury of revenge. 
But what does he ? He does all that his means would 
admit, or his prudence could dictate. He divides his 
company, sends forward a present, and studies a soft 
answer which turneth away wrath; and then retires 
and casts all his care on him who cared for him, and 
made even his enemy to be at peace with him. 

Why did not his father and mother throw Moses 
into the river at once ? Grod could have easily pre- 
served him, and the deliverance would have been the 
more remarkable. But as if every thing depended 
upon their diligence and precaution, they hide him 
as long as possible, and then build a little ark, and 
pitch it within and without, and when the vehicle is 
left in the flags, the sister is stationed to watch any 
favourable issue : and in doing this they cast all their 
care upon him who cared for them, and turned the 
shadow of death into the morning. Miracles were 
never mere displays of power; nor ever were they 
needlessly performed, or exceeding in their degree and 
extent. Thus our Lord prepared a fish to furnish 
money for the temple-tax : yet he did not supernaturally 
transport it through the air, and lay it upon the table ; 
but ordered Peter to go to the sea and cast in his 
hook. And when the angel had done what was really 
out of Peter's power, opened the iron gates and loos- 
ened his fetters, he yet told him to put on his sandals 
and mantle, and follow him ; for this he could do ; and 
why should the angel have carried him forth in his arms 
or on his shoulder? 

But though you are not to cast your work upon the 
Lord, you are to cast your care. For though duty is 
yours, events are his. But when you have diligently 



116 April 18. — Evening. 

and properly used the means, you are not to be of a 
doubtful mind, or to yield to fretfulness and impa- 
tience; but to commit your way unto the Lord, and 
leave the concern with him. If we go forward into 
the world of imagination, and busy ourselves about 
contingencies, we invade the Lord's province, and 
weary ourselves for very vanity. Who by taking 
thought can add one cubit unto his stature ? But he 
can take away one. He can injure himself though he 
cannot benefit. The sin brings its own punishment 
along with it. Our anxiousness hurts our health, our 
temper, our peace of mind, our fitness for duty and 
devotion. What a wretched burden it is! Well, 
whatever makes up the depression, "Cast thy burden 
upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." But how 
is this to be done? We are to cast all our care upon 
him two ways. First, by prayer. "Be careful for 
nothing, but in every thing, by prayer and supplica- 
tion with thanksgiving, let your request be made 
known unto Grod." " Is any afflicted ? Let him pray." 
Oh what a relief! 

Secondly, by faith — A firm and influential belief of 
his providential agency in all our concerns; a per- 
suasion that all his ways towards us are mercy and 
truth ; an assurance that all things work together for 
good to them that love God. " Thou wilt keep him 
in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, be- 
cause he trusteth in thee." But who has faith 
enough for this? Lord, I believe; help thou mine 
unbelief. 



Apkil 19. — Morning. 117 

april 19.— morning. 

" For he careth for you." 1 Pet. v. 1. 

Whatever the world may think, religion is wis- 
dom : and requires nothing of its followers but a 
" reasonable service." The privileges of a Christian 
are not baseless fancies: his repentance is not an 
ignorant sorrow ; his trust in God is not a blind pre- 
sumption. He is able to give a reason of the hope 
that is in him ; and he can justify his practice as well 
as his expectation. 

How simple and satisfactory is the motive or argu- 
ment here adduced to enforce the duty enjoined: 
"Casting all your care upon him — -for he careth for 
you /" Our affairs cannot be left to negligence and 
uncertainty — Some one must manage them ; and care 
for us. Now opposed to our own care is the care of 
Grod! And how much better is the one than the 
other ! Our care is unavailing and unprofitable. And 
how little can we add to it from any relative resource ! 
A friend is indeed born for adversity; and such a 
benefactor, by counselling us in our doubts, comfort- 
ing us in our sorrows, and relieving us in our necessi- 
ties, is one of the greatest blessings Heaven can bestow. 
Yet how limited as well as uncertain is human friend- 
ship ! All reliance on creature help is leaning on a 
broken reed, or hewing out broken cisterns that can 
hold no water. But " blessed is the man that trusteth 
in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall 
be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth 
out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat 
cometh ; but her leaf shall be green ; and shall not be 
in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yield 



118 April 19.— Morning. 

ing fruit." Here is a Divine friend and helper. afo 
careth for us — Here is the case of a God engage-, for 
us — That is, of a Being possessed of infinite perfec- 
tions. Here is a care attended b j unerring knowledge ; 
by almighty power ; by a goodness, a kindness, a tender- 
ness, a patience, a fidelity, that knows no bounds. 
Surely all these advantages combined in him who 
careth for us, must render his care all-sufficient for 
every purpose, and discharge oar minds from every 
solicitude. 

But what evidence have we that he does care for us ? 
The fact is certainly astonishing ; and when we reflect 
upon God's majesty and holiness, and our meanness 
and unworthiness, we may well exclaim, with David, 
"Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him, or 
the son of man that thou visitest him !" Or, with Job, 
" "What is man that thou shouldest magnify him ; that 
thou shouldest set thy heart upon him ; that thou 
shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every 
moment !" Yet nothing is more true. It is involved 
in the first essential principle of religion, and upon 
which all its duties are founded : for " he that cometh 
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder 
of them that diligently seek him." We are com- 
manded to pray to God ; but for what purpose, if he 
takes no interest in our concerns ? We are required 
to bless and praise him ; but for what reason, if he dis- 
penses our blessings by accident, and not from disposi- 
tion and design? He also takes care for oxen. He 
giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens 
that cry. He openeth his hand and satisfieth the 
desire of every living thing. Now we may reason 
from the less to the greater — And hence the Saviour 
says to his disciples, " Ye are of more value than many 



April 19. — Morning. 119 

sparrows." "Behold the fowls of the air ; for they sow 
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet 
your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much 
better than they?" "Consider the lilies of the field, 
how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : 
and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his 
glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, 
if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, 
and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
more clothe you, ye of little faith?" The relations 
in which he stands prove the same. If he professes 
himself to be the Shepherd, the King, the Husband, 
the Father of his people, will he not care for his sheep, 
his subjects, his bride, his offspring? His promises 
are exceeding great and precious, and adapted to all 
our wants and fears. " The eyes of the Lord are upon 
the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry." 
" When thou passest through the waters, I will be with 
thee ; and through the river's, they shall not overflow 
thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt 
not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon 
thee." " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." 
Is not this the language of one that careth for us ? 
Review his doings for proof of this; for as we have 
heard so have we seen in the city of our God. What 
says the history of his people in all generations ? Who 
cared for ISToah when the Deluge was coming on, and 
said, Come thou and all thy house into the ark ? Who 
cared for David, and appeared for him in all his dangers 
and tribulation ? Who restrained the lions and the 
flames that they should not touch Daniel and his com- 
panions ? Whose angel stood by Paul in the storm, 
and said, Fear not, Paul, when all hope that the;y 



120 April 19. — Moening. 

should be saved was taken away ? And what says 
your own experience? Has he not cared for you 
from the womb ? In childhood ? In youth ? In man- 
hood ? In every period of life ? In every condition ? 
In every difficulty ? In every distress ? And having 
cared for you so long, will he abandon you now? 
Having sought you when enemies, will he forsake you 
now he has made you friends? Having not spared 
his own Son, but delivered him up for you ; will he 
withhold any good thing from you? 

"But if he cared for us, why are we so afflicted?" 
This, instead of being an objection, furnishes a proof. 
Your trials evince his care. You are children under 
discipline — And if you endure chastening, God deal- 
eth with you as with sons ; for what son is he whom 
the father chasteneth not? "If ye be without chas- 
tisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, 
and not sons." The husbandman prunes the vine 
because he cares for it, and wishes it to bring forth 
more fruit. The artificer puts the gold into the fur- 
nace because he values and wishes to improve it. 

How enviable is the portion and experience of 
Christians! The world indeed knoweth them not. 
They can only see their outward condition ; and be- 
cause this is often poor and afflicted, they are ready 
to think that they are miserable and melancholy. 
But how differently would they think if they could 
see their inward security and composure — If they could 
see how they rise above those changes which ruffle and 
terrify others — If they could see how, while the men 
of the earth fret, and turmoil, and are devoured by the 
sorrow of the world that worketh death, they have, 
even in this vale of tears, an asylum where the wicked 



April 19. — Evening. 121 

cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest, 
and the peace of Grod which passeth all understanding 
keeps their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus 1 

But, alas! we often hold forth Christians as they 
ought to be, rather than as they are. It is lamentable 
that they do not more fully improve their resources, 
and live up to their privileges. Hence, that care which 
they are allowed and commanded to resign, and which 
their heavenly Father and Friend is more than willing 
to take upon himself, they retain and even cherish to 
the spoiling of their comfort; and instead of their 
dwelling at ease, and being in quiet from the fear of 
evil, they are ingenious at self- vexation, and suffer in 
imagination far more than in reality ! Lord, humble 
us — and forgive — and teach us to profit — and lead us 
in the way that we should choose. 

APRIL 19.— EVENING. 
"We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren," 1 John iii. 16. 

In the beginning of the Grospel this test of love was 
frequently required ; and Christians not only dared to 
be companions of them that suffered, but were ready 
to suffer for them. So Paul testifies of Priscilla and 
Aquila, his helpers in Christ: "Who," says he, "have 
for my life laid down their own necks : unto whom 
not only I give thanks but also all the churches of the 
Gren tiles." It is well the providence of Grod does not 
call us to such a severe trial. But surely the principle 
requires us to be ready to do every thing in ovr power 
on their behalf; and will not allow us to refuse any 
service or sacrifice for our brethren, however arduous. 

We may do much for their minds; by dissipating 
their doubts, removing their fears, and bringing the n 



122 April 19.— Evening. 

comfort in their spiritual distresses. Thus Jonathan 
went to David in the wood, and strengthened his hand 
in Grod. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so 
doth a man his friend by hearty counsel. A Christian 
is self-suspicious, and is afraid of every conclusion in 
his own favour drawn by himself. He sees not the 
consolation to which he is entitled, though so near 
him ; but another, like the Angel to Hagar, may open 
his eyes, and shew him the well. Sometimes he is 
cast down, supposing many things are peculiar to 
himself; especially those painful feelings which arise 
from the assaults of Satan, and his conflict with in- 
dwelling sin, more and more of which he is continually 
discovering. But you can relieve him by opening your 
own experience, and letting him know that it is so 
with you. There is another important case : "Breth- 
ren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are 
spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness ; 
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." 

What can be dearer to a man than reputation ? A 
good name is rather to be chosen than great riches ; 
but it may be injured various ways. And surely we 
ought to be alive to a brother's character ; and will- 
ingly throw ourselves between him and the strife of 
tongues. When any thing is said to his disparage- 
ment, we should shew that charity, which rejoiceth 
not in iniquity; but hopeth all things. We should 
frown away the slander of insinuation. We should 
not allow a relator to go on, without inquiring whether 
he will allow us to name it to the person aggrieved, or 
to the person from whom he affirms he has derived it. 
What a world of calumny and mischief would this 
single expedient prevent ! — He that helps not in the 
circulation of the report, yet, if he pleasingly, or even 



Apkil 19.— Evening. 123 

patiently, sits to hear it, shares half the blame; and, 
as Dr. South says, the tale-bearer and the tale-hearer 
should be both hanged up, back to back, only the one 
by the tongue, and the other by the ear. 

The body may need help. And our Saviour bore 
our infirmities, and sicknesses, by compassion and 
sympathy. His commiseration could bear them away 
from the sufferers. We cannot perform miracles. 
But we may be useful by medical aid, and by personal 
attendance, and succour. And where the malady 
cannot be removed, the enduring may be alleviated. 
Is it nothing to the patient, that you visit him in his 
affliction ? that he sees you at the side of the bed of 
languishing? that, by your tears and prayers, you are 
answering to the address — Pity me, pity me, O ye my 
friends ! for the hand of God hath touched me ? 

The estate of our brethren may call for assistance ; 
and is to be relieved according to our ability. It wilJ 
be as base in us as unprofitable to them, to say, Depart 
in peace ; be ye warmed and filled ; while we give 
them not those things which are needful to the body. 
"Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother 
have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion 
from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" 
Job could say, The blessing of him that was ready to 
perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart 
to sing for joy. It was the saying of our Lord, It is 
more blessed to give than to receive. It was the glory 
of Christianity, in its first powerful effect, that none, 
who embraced it "lacked." As glory in heaven, and 
as grace on earth, so the blessings of Providence were 
free and open to all. The property of Christians went 
along with their, affections; "and distribution was 
made to every one as he had need." And so tender 



124 April 20. — Morning. 

were they of each other, that "the multitude of them 
that believed were of one heart and of one soul ; neither 
said any of them that aught of the things which he 
possessed was his own : but they had all things 
common." " Oh, this is no rule for us." Well; take 
it and interpret it in your own way. Yet, will not — ■ 
what even you infer from it as a duty, include much 
more than is now found in the temper and practice of 
Christians? "But we are not able." — This is com- 
monly the language of those who are able, but not 
willing. Some incapacitate themselves. A decent 
distinction above the vulgar will not satisfy them ; 
they must be splendid in dress, and luxurious in table, 
and magnificent in furniture. Others are disabled by 
hoarding. If accumulation be not condemned by 
Christianity, the extent of it is. A man may decently 
provide for his family, without wishing to leave them 
in the snares of affluence, and with a heap of wealth, 
which, if they do not dissipate by vice and excess, 
they are likely only to be concerned to enlarge. And 
may not persons increase their powers of beneficence, 
by diligence, and economy, and self-denial? And is 
not self-denial the first lesson in the school of Christ ? 
And you know the grace of Him, who, though he was 
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you, 
through his poverty, might be rich — " We ought to 

LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR THE BRETHREN." 



APRIL 20.— MORNING. 
" And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly." — Luke xxll 44. 

And what must this agony have been, when it is 
added, that " his sweat was as it were great drops of 



April 20. — -Morning. 125 

blood falling down to the ground!" "What, my soul, 
could have caused this? 

— But let us now observe his deportment. For we 
are not only to view him in his passion as our Me- 
diator, but as also suffering for us, to leave us an 
example that we should follow his steps. " In his 
agony he prayed more earnestly." Not that he was 
cold and formal before in his devotions ; but as the 
hour and power of darkness advanced, and he began 
to be sore amazed and very heavy ; and his soul was 
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ; there was 
more excitement in his feelings and vehemency in 
his manner of expression. — Now were the days of his 
flesh, in which, with strong cryings and tears, he 
made supplications to Him who was able to save him 
from death. So it is to be with us. Prayer is never 
out of season. We see this in the life of Jesus. On 
what occasion did he not pray ? But there is a time 
when it is specially seasonable. Therefore says God, 
" Call upon me in the day of trouble." " Is any af- 
flicted? Let him pray." Prayer is the design, the 
refuge, the solace, the improvement, of affliction ; and 
the greater the distress and anguish we are in, the 
more necessary will it be, both for our sanctiflcation 
and support. Let us, therefore, be the more impor- 
tunate. In the greatness of our distress, 

— Let us not, like Adam and Eve, flee, and endeavor 
to hide ourselves from Grod — but pray. 

— Let us not, like Cain, begin to build, and try, by 
worldly projects, to dissipate our grief— but pray. 

— Let us not, like Jonah, fret under the loss of our 
gourds, and tell Grod himself, that we do well to be 
angry, even unto death — -but pray. 

— Let us not, like Ephraim and Judah, repair to crea- 



126 April 20. — Evening. 

tures: "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah 
saw his wounds, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, 
and sent to king Jareb : yet could he not heal them, 
or cure them of their wound" — but pray. 

— Let us not, like Saul, who went to the Witch of 
Endor, repair to the Devil himself, by error, drunken- 
ness, and sin — but pray. 

— Let us not, like Ahithophel and Judas, have re- 
course to suicide, and plunge into hell for relief — but 
pray. - Let us say, with the Church, " Come, and let 
us return unto the Lord : for he hath torn, and he will 
heal us ; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up :" or, 
with Job, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in 

Sim." 

" 1 seem forsaken and alone, 
I hear the lions roar, 
And every door is shut, but one, 
And that is Mercy's door. 

" There, till the dear Deliverer comes, 

I'll wait, with humble prayer : 

And, when he calls his exile home, 

The Lord shall find me there." 



APRIL 20.— EVENING. 
" Consider the lilies." Matt. vi. 28. 

Some persons seem to have no relish for the works 
of nature, and therefore, " seeing many things, they 
observe not." Others have a taste for everything that 
is fair, and inviting, and enchanting, in the seasons of 
the year, and the scenery of the earth, and are never 
weary of walking in the forest, the meadow, and the 
garden. For they believe and feel that " God made 
the country, and man made the town." And all ap- 
plaud their judgment and sensibility in distinction 



April 20.— Evening. 127 

from those mechanical beings who are only struck 
with what is factitious and artificial. 

Yet even here one thing more is desirable and ne- 
cessary. It is that while we are pleased we should be 
instructed ; it is that while our senses are charmed our 
graces should be exercised ; it is that wonder should 
be followed with adoration, and the Christian be added 
to the man. 

It is thus the sacred writers perpetually send us to 
the animal and vegetable creation for impression and 
improvement. And thus our Saviour addressed his 
hearers and said, " Consider the lilies." There were 
many other flowers equally worthy of notice with the 
lilies : but he selected these as specimens, and pro- 
bably because they were near him and in sight, for he 
was sitting on the side of a hill, and he mentions not 
the cultured lilies, but lilies " of the field." 

Consider the lilies as productions of (rod's creating 
skill. All his works praise him; and what distin- 
guishes his works so much from the operations of men 
is, that they will bear examination, and that the more 
they are examined the more will they display the wis- 
dom of the Author. Nothing can be added to them, 
nothing can be taken from them. — " His work is per- 
fect." Take an artificial flower ; it shews ingenuity, 
and deceives the eye at a distance. But bring it near; 
observe it; compare it; and where are the life, the 
growth, the opening bud and blossom, the freshness, 
the colors, the fragrance of the living one ? We some- 
times admire articles of dress, The rich man was 
clothed "in purple and fine linen." They that are in 
kings' houses "wear soft raiment." How exquisitely 
wrought are some kinds of human manufacture ! and 
yet when you survey them through the microscope 



128 Apeil 20.— Evening. 

they appear in the rudeness and roughness of sack 
cloth. Bu', the green and the white of the lily chal- 
lenge the inspection not only of the eye, but of the 
glass, and compel you to exclaim, " This is the finger 
of God." If those versed in mathematical science re- 
mark that they cannot go far without meeting with 
something infinite, how much more must this be the 
case with every reflecting mind at every step he takes 
among the wonders of creation ! 

Again. Consider the lilies as objects of his provi- 
dential care. This was the peculiar aim of our Lord 
in the admonition. He would free the minds of his 
disciples from all undue solicitude respecting their 
temporal subsistence. Therefore, says he, " Take no 
thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye 
shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put 
on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body 
than raiment ?" He then refers, in his own inimitable 
way, to each of the necessaries of life, food and cloth- 
ing — "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, 
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns : yet your 
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much 
better than they? And why take ye thought for rai- 
ment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; 
they toil not, neither do they spin : and yet I say unto 
you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not ar- 
rayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe 
the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow 
is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe 
you, ye of little faith'?" How simple, yet convinc- 
ing, is the inference ! God does not love the birds and 
the flowers as he loves }~ou. He has not bought them 
with an infinite price. He has not put his Spirit 
within them. They are not partakers of the Divine 



Apeil 20.— EvK>-i>ra. 129 

nature. They are not to endure for ever. Will he take 
care of the less and overlook the infinitely greater ? 

Consider also the lilies as emblems. First, as em- 
blems of Christ. The image indeed comes very far 
short of his glory ; but it will help our conceptions, 
and serve to remind us a little of his purity, his 
meekness, his loveliness, and " the savour of his know- 
ledge:" therefore, says he, "lam the rose of Sharon, 
and the lily of the vallej^s." Secondly, as emblems 
of Christians. In all things he must have the pre- 
eminence ; but his people are held forth in the Scrip- 
ture by the same resemblances : for there is not only 
a union but a conformity between them. They have 
the same mind which was in him. They bear the 
image . of the heavenly. And therefore, to express 
their residence in the world, and how he values them 
above others, he adds, "as the lily among thorns, so 
is my love among the daughters." 

Let us conclude with the words of the Church : 
"My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the 
beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather 
lilies!'' 1 Thus he comes into our congregations and 
families, and takes to himself our dear ornaments and 
delights. We miss them, and sigh over the loss of 
pious connexions. The friend who was as my own 
soul, the child of my bosom, the desire of mine eyes, 
the guide of my youth, is taken away — and the place 
that once knew them, knows them no more — But He 
taketh away, and who can hinder him ? The whole 
garden is his ; and he has a right to do what he will 
with his own. He saw them meet for the change ; 
and they are unspeakable gainers by the removal. 
Other lilies when gathered fade and die, but these 
shall bloom for ever and ever. 



130 Apeil 21. — Morning-, 

april 21.— morning. 

"Fear not ye : for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified." 
Matt, xxviii. 5. 

This was the address of an angel to Mary Magda- 
lene, and the other Mary, that, had come to see the 
sepulchre before break of day. They were last at 
the cross, and first at the tomb. Favours are given 
sovereignly by the Lord, but honour is conferred 
according to a rule ; and the rule is this — " Them 
that honour me I will honour." 

These women were informed of his resurrection 
before the Apostles. The Apostles received the in- 
telligence from them ; but they received it from an 
angel. At first, these pious visitants were afraid. 
And what wonder, when we consider — that they 
were females — that all their sensibilities were alive — 
that they were in the garden of another — that they 
were alone — that the earth was reeling under them — 
that the guards were fleeing, and perhaps shrieking 
• — that it was early in the morning — and the remain- 
ing darkness rendered more visible and awful the 
Divine messenger sitting at the door of the tomb — ■ 
his countenance as lightning, and his raiment white 
as snow! But, says the angel, "You have nothing 
to apprehend from me. He is my Master, as well as 
your Saviour. I serve him whom ye seek; and, 
having attended his resurrection, I now announce it 
to you. He is not here ; he is risen, as he said — 
Step forward — Come, see the place where the Lord 
lay." 

And it is true, in its most extended application, 
that they who seek Jesus Christ which was crucified, 



April 21. — Morning. 131 

have really nothing to fear, whatever at first may 
dismay them. 

But who are entitled to this assurance ? Do you 
feel your need of him as once you did not, for all the 
purposes of salvation ? Have you desires after him — 
so peculiar that nothing else can satisfy them — so 
powerful as to make you willing to part with what- 
ever stands in competition with him? Are you 
determined to press through all difficulties? Are 
you found in the use of all the means which he has 
appointed ? Are you submissively asking, Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to do ? depending on the aid of his 
Holy Spirit? and looking for his mercy unto eternal 
life ? If you can answer these questions in the affirm- 
ative, I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified? 1 

— And I also know, that ye have nothing to fear, 
"Fear not ye." — Fear not that you have a graceless 
heart — the very seeking is a token for good. It can- 
not be the effect of Nature — that which is of the flesh 
is flesh; but that which is of the Spirit is spirit. 
They that are after the flesh do mind the things of 
the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit, the things 
of the Spirit. — Fear not that your search will be suc- 
cessless. Had he a mind to kill you, he would not 
have shewn you such things as these. His aim, in 
making you sensible of your condition, was not to 
render you miserable, but to endear himself; and to 
draw forth your souls after him. You shall not be 
disappointed, You may be tried, but he will appear 
to your joy. Did any ever seek him in vain? Can 
he deny himself? They that sow in tears shall reap 
in joy. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness, for they shall be filled. — Fear not 
that you shall fall under the power of any evil. From 



132 April 21. — Evening. 

what evil are you not secured ? Is it temporal want? 
rhe young lions may lack and suffer hunger: but 
hey that seek the L »rd shall not want any good thing. 
Is it the penalty of the Law ? He has redeemed you 
from the curse of the law, having been made a curse 
for you. Is it sin? Sin shall not have dominion 
over you ; for ye are not under the law, but under 
grace. Is it the world ? This is the victory that 
overcometh the world ; even our faith. Is it Satan ? 
The God of peace will bruise Satan under your feet 
shortly. Is it death? He has abolished death. 
O Death, where is thy sting ? O Grave, where is thy 
victoiy? "Nay, in all these things we are more 
than conquerors through him that loved us. For I 
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

APRIL 21.— EVENING. 
"That we might be fellow-helpers to the truth." 3 John i. 8. 

Co-operation supposes others engaged already in 
the same cause. Who these were we learn from the 
preceding words. They are called "brethren and 
strangers." Yet they were not private Christians, 
but preachers, evangelists, missionaries who travelled 
to spread the savour of the Redeemer's knowledge in 
every place — " Because for his name's sake they went 
forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles." The labourer 
is worthy of his hire ; and God has ordained that they 
who preach the Gospel shall live of the Gospel : but 
these men waived their right, as Paul had done while 



Apeil 21. — Evening. 133 

• ■i ^orinth, that they might not seem mercenary, or 
prove burdensome. These Gentiles, too, might have 
been indisposed to afford them reception and support. 
Such a readiness to come forward can hardly be ex- 
pected from persons before they have heard the word, 
so as to understand the importance of it. People do 
not make sacrifices for a thing they do not value ; 
and they are not likely to value what they do not 
feel they need. We have seen infants at the funeral 
of a mother, instead of being affected with the scene, 
amusing themselves with the emblems of mortality : 
but nothing can be more affecting than this ; and we 
have been ready to exclaim, Ah ! ye dear babes, you 
little know the loss you have sustained, but as yoq 
grow up, you will learn it from experience. Does the 
maniac ask our pity and help ? He scorns them. He 
sings in his confinement — it is his palace — he deems 
himself a king. But is he not the more entitled to 
our compassion, on this very account ? So here ; 
none are so worthy of our merciful regard as those 
who are perishing for lack of knowledge, but are 
unaffected with their condition : and it must be our 
concern to make them sensible of their want. In the 
first instance, they will not come to us — we must go 
to them — and we must seek, if we would save, that 
which is lost. They will not be at the charge of our 
messengers; others, therefore, must support them. 
And on whom are we to call for assistance, but on 
those who have tasted the good word of life, and 
know by experience that the Gospel is the power of 
God to salvation ? " We ought therefore," says John, 
" to receive such, that we might be fellow-helpers to 
the truth." 

And such was Gaius. He was not one of those 



134 Apeil 21.— Evening. 

that went forth to labour among those who could not 
or would not entertain and supply them : but when 
these teachers travelled that way, he accommodated 
them in his house ; he forwarded them on their jour- 
ney after a godly sort ; he furnished them with what 
was needful in their work ; and encouraged them to 
apply to him in their exigencies. In this, some may 
resemble him expressly by attentions and kindness to 
our evangelists at home : and as to our missionaries 
at a distance, and to whom we can have no immediate 
access, all can countenance and aid them by helping 
those societies which engage them, and are responsible 
for their support. To do this is a duty. When per- 
sons are drawn in the militia, if they go not them- 
selves, they must procure substitutes. All cannot go 
forth among the Gentiles, but we should all contribute 
to those who do. We should consider them as our 
agents, laboring for us — for the work is ours — and 
the command is binding upon us, " Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." 

Nothing is to be done, even in the cause of God, 
without pecuniary aid. What an honour is conferred 
on property, that it should be employed in the salva- 
tion of souls ! Who would waste any of his resources? 
Who would not deny himself, to be able to become a 
fellow-helper to the truth that has so helped him, 
and can so help others ? Mordecai told Esther, that 
if she refused to exert herself for the deliverance of 
her people, enlargement should come from another 
quarter ; but then she would lose the honour and bless- 
edness of the instrumentality ; and not only so, but 
be destroyed herself. God allows us to act in his 
cause ; but let us not mistake the principle : he em- 
ploys us for our sake, not his own. His resources are 



Apeil 22. — Morning. 135 

infinite ; and if we decline the work, the work will 
not be abandoned ; but we shall lose the glory and 
the happiness of the achievement. And who could 
end are the thought, that in this Divine undertaking, 
he had never had any concern ? But this is not all. 
There is danger, as well as loss. Our inaction is guilt. 
We neglect the use of the finest opportunity for use- 
fulness. We hide our talent in the earth. Our indif- 
ference is rebellion to the call of God. " Who will 
rise up for me against the evil doers? Who will 
stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" 
" Curse ye Meroz," said the angel of the Lord : "curse 
ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came 
not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord 
against the mighty." 



APRIL 22.— MORNING. 

"It came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise 
lip, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered ; and let them that hate 
thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, Lord, 
unto the many thousands of Israel." Numb. x. 35, 36. 

We might have expected that Aaron would have 
done this, as he was the high priest. But Moses was 
the leader and commander of the people ; and he was 
not offering sacrifice, or burning incense — in which 
he would have offended ; but performing a duty of 
natural, as well as revealed religion. This is binding 
upon all, and especially upon public men. Thus 
Solomon, though a king, kneeled on a scaffold of 
wood, at the dedication of the temple, and led himself 
the prayers of the nation. Princes, officers, magis- 
trates, masters of families, should all be men of 



136 Apeil 22. — Moening. 

prayer. Eelative, as well as personal claims, bind 
them to the duty. 

It would seem that Moses always, on these occa- 
sions, employed the same terms. Our Jyord also, in 
the garden, prayed three times, saying the same 
words. It is obvious from hence, that whatever ad- 
vantages extemporaneous prayer possesses — and it 
has many — yet forms of prayer cannot be in them- 
selves improper, in public or in private. 

As Moses thus addressed God at the commence- 
ment, and the conclusion, of every march — does it not 
behove us to acknowledge him in all our ways ? and 
with prayer to begin and end every day ? every meal ? 
every ordinance? every enterprise? every journey? 
every going out, and every coming in? 

Especially, let us think of those short and sublime 
addresses, in our travelling heavenward through this 
wilderness world. 

Here is the marching prayer — " Eise up, Lord, 
and let thine enemies be scattered ; and let them that 
hate thee flee before thee." That is — "Before we 
move, we commend ourselves to thy guidance, and 
guardian care, and almighty agency. We are passing, 
not only through strange, but hostile regions. There 
are foes, open or concealed, which would hinder our 
progress — rob us — wound us — destroy us. But we 
are thy charge, and engaged in thy cause. They 
that hate us, hate thee. Our enemies are thy enemies, 
And, formidable as they are, thou canst as easily van 
quish them as the sun, rising in his strength, can dis 
perse the shadows that seem to oppose his march.' 
Let us realize this, and we shall feel enough to ani 
mate us to go forward, though men, though devils 
beset our path. " The Lord is my light and my sal 



April 22. — Morning. 137 

vation ; whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength 
of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid ? Though an 
host should encamp against me, my heart shall not 
fear : though war should rise against me, in this will 
I be confident." 

Here is the resting prayer — "Return, Lord, unto 
the many thousands of Israel." That is — If Thou 
goest on, in vain we are left. What can we do with- 
out thee in our encampment, any more than in our 
march? Thy presence is our security, our treasure, 
our glory, our joy. What is any station without 
Thee ? — How can its duties be discharged ? its trials 
be endured? its comforts be sanctified? But every 
residence, with Thee, is ennobled and blessed. Hea- 
ven is the only tabernacle of Grod with men. — Thus 
the two disciples, when the Lord made as if he would 
have gone farther, constrained him, saying, It is toward 
evening, and the day is far spent — and — did he refuse? 
He went in to tarry with them. Do we thus prize 
him? Do we thus pray that he would go where we 
go, and dwell where we dwell ? If not, we have a 
poor prospect before us. If we can live without Gocl 
with us in this world, we must live without him in 
another. But if our souls cleave to Him, and cry, 
"Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me," — we may rejoice in the 
promise, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 

— But let me not here overlook two things. . First, 
The number of his people — " The many thousands of 
Israel." "For" unless we send out ignorance and 
bigotry to count them, "who can count the dust of 
Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel?" 
And the Lord add to his people, how many soever 
they be, a thousandfold ! Secondly, We should be 



138 April 22. — Evening. 

concerned for the whole Israel of God. They all 
belong to us. They are all fellow-citizens of the same 
community ; branches of the same household ; members 
of the same body. They are more intimately related, 
and ought to be more endeared to us, than any earthly 
friends, or natural relations. 

■ — Pray, therefore, for the peace of Jerusalem. For 
your brethren and companions' sakes, say, Peace be 
within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces — 
"Return, Lord," — not unto our family, or tribe; not 
unto the thousands of Episcopalians, or Dissenters — 
but "unto the many thousands of Israel." "Grace 
be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in 
sincerity." And, "As many as walk according to 
this rule, peace be on them and mercy, and upon the 
Israel of God." 

APRIL 22.— EVENING 

"If God were your Father, ye would love ma" John viii. 42. 

Some are so full of self-conceit and self-sufficiency, 
that they seem to consider themselves the standard of 
all worth and excellency; and are disposed to judge 
of others principally, if not only, by their regard to 
them. If you dislike them, you are worthless; but 
just in proportion as you esteem and admire them, 
you rise in value. And such is the injustice of our 
fallen nature, that we are pleased with commendations 
which we know we do not deserve ; and court praise 
for abilities and qualities which we are sure we do not 
possess. 

It was not so with Christ. He was meek and lowly 
in heart ; and if he spoke highly of himself, it was not 
from pride and vainglory, but from the necessity of 






Apkil 22.— Evening. 139 

the case. He knew himself; he knew his importance 
to as; and he knew that we ought to be acquainted 
with it. Therefore he said, " Come unto me" — "I am 
the light of the world"— I am the bread of life"— "I 
am the way, the truth, and the life" — "This is life 
eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus 
Christ whom thou hast sent." He knew that God's 
relation to us could only be determined by our regard 
to himself, and therefore he was authorized and re- 
quired to say, "If God were your Father, ye would 
love me." There can be no doubt of this: for he that 
belongs to God will resemble him: he will love pecu- 
liarly what God loves peculiarly ; and he will love 
supremely what God loves supremely: and "this," 
says he, "is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased." " Mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." 
" The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things 
into his hand." 

It is a great thing to have God for our father — not 
by creation, in which sense all mankind are his off- 
spring ; but by adoption and regeneration. What an 
hbnour ! What a blessedness ! To be the sons and 
daughters of the Lord Almighty ! To have free and 
invited access to him ! To share in all the love and 
pity of his heart ! To be authorized to depend upon 
him for instruction, and correction, and defence, and 
support ! To be heirs of God, to an inheritance in- 
corruptible and undeflled, and that fadeth not away, 
reserved in heaven for us ! 

But how are we to ascertain this privilege? By 
our regard to Christ — if God is our Father, we love 
him. Now this love, though not a passion, is a real, 
powerful, influential principle; and it is the main- 
spring of action in the Christian life. There are two 



140 April 22.— Evening. 

modes of determining our love to him. The First is 
to consider him relatively, and observe how we are 
affected towards those parts of him, so to speak, with 
which we are constantly coming more immediately 
into contact. There is "the Lord's day" — Do I love 
this; and can I call the Sabbath a delight? There is 
"the word of Christ" — Can I say, "Thy words were 
found, and I did eat them ; and thy word was unto 
me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart?" He has 
a house for his name — Can I say, "I have loved the 
habitation of thy house, and the place where thine 
honour dwelleth?" He has a seed to serve him — Do 
I pray, " Remember me with the favour thou bearest 
unto thy people?" They are "the excellent of the 
earth" — Is all my delight in them? If I love him, I 
shall love every thing that is his. 

The Second is to consider how our attachment to 
any other object affects us. If I love an object, I 
naturally, unavoidably, frequently, pleasantly think 
of it. Can I love Christ, and not have him much in 
my thoughts? If I love an object, I am led to speak 
of it : I cannot help referring to it, and recommending 
it : out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak- 
eth. What reason have I to conclude that I love 
Christ, unless he often enters my discourse ; and I feel 
myself at home while talking of his glory ? If I love 
a friend, I shall desire nearness to him, and communion 
with him. And how can I love Christ, unless I mourn 
his absence, and long after intercourse with him espe- 
cially in his ordinances — " Tell me, O thou whom my 
soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest 
thy flock to rest at noon?" — If I love a benefactor, I 
shall inquire how I can make suitable returns for his 
kindness ; I shall be afraid to grieve him ; I shall be 



April 23. — Morning. 141 

anxious to please him ; I shall be willing to make sacri- 
fices for his sake. Do I discover the same disposition 
towards Christ? 

This yields a dreadful reflection with regard to 
some. They are those who do not love Christ — God 
is not their Father — They are the children of the 
devil. And the lusts of their father they will do. 
And with him and his angels, and all who "cannot 
love," they will have their portion for ever — " If any 
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be 
Anathema Maran-atha." 



APRIL 23.— MORNING. 

"From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart 
is overwhelmed : lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. For 
thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." 
Ps. lxi. 2, 3. 

He does the most important service who instructs 
us to pray. We may here learn much from the ex- 
ample of David. 

— How would he pray? "I will cry unto Thee." 
Crying is a substitute for speech; and also the ex- 
pression of earnestness. A child can cry, long be- 
fore it can articulate ; and its cries as much move the 
parent as any eloquence of words. A person in great 
danger, or want, or pain, not only utters himself, but 
cries out, and often aloud, according to the pressure 
of his feelings. Let me pray as I can. I may not be 
able to express my desires as some do; but, if I am 
deeply affected by them, and they spring from a 
broken heart and contrite spirit, they shall not be 
despised. 

— Where would he pray? " From the ends of the 



142 April 23.— Morning. 

earth will I cry unto Thee." He means, any con- 
dition, however desolate, or distant — distance of place 
being put for greatness of extremity. Sometimes we 
may be thrown into situations the most trying and 
remote from human aid. But wherever we are, God 
is there to hear and succour us. Thus Joseph found 
him, when sold into Egypt ; and John, when he was 
exiled in Patmos ; and Paul, when tossed far off upon 
the sea. We are as near the throne of Grace in 
one place as another. Prayer can reach him wher- 
ever we are, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. 
"While they speak I will answer; and before they 
speak I will hear." 

— When would he pray? " When my heart is over- 
whelmed." Not that he would restrain prayer at other 
times — we are to pray without ceasing. It is the 
character of a hypocrite, that he will not always call 
upon God. There are birds who only make a noise 
at the approach of bad weather ; and there are persons 
who only pour out a prayer when God's chastening 
hand is upon them. But what should we think of a 
neighbour or friend, who never called upon us but when 
he wanted to borrow or to beg ? — Yet, what is alwaj^s 
proper may be sometimes peculiarly seasonable, natu- 
ral, and necessary. And this is the case when we are 
in trouble and affliction. Therefore says Gocl, Call 
upon me in the day of trouble. The answer will in 
due time relieve and deliver. The exercise will im- 
mediately soothe and sanctify. Is any afflicted? Let 
him pray. 

— For what would he pray? "Lead me to the Bock 
that is higher than Z" What means he by this Eock, 
but something which could afford him support, when 
he was ready to be swallowed up? The perfections • 



Apeil 23. — Evening. 143 

of Jehovah ; the everlasting Covenant ; the doctrine 
of Providence; the Lord Jesus, who is our hope — 
This is the rest, and this is the refreshing. And. yet, 
when the relief is provided, and when we see it too, 
we cannot reach it of ourselves. We need a Divine 
agency to conduct us to it. We not only live in the 
Spirit, but walk in the Spirit. 

— Whence does he derive his encouragement to 
pray? "For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a 
strong tower from the enemy." Nothing can be more 
confirming and exciting, than the review of God's 
former interpositions on our behalf: and to reason 
from^what he has been, to what he will be ; and from 
what he has done, to what he will do. For he is the 
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. And they that 
know his Name will put their trust in him. 

" His love, in time past, 

Forbids me to think 
He '11 leave me, at last, 

In trouble to sink. 
Each sweet Ebenezer 

I have in review 
Confirms his good pleasure 

To help me quite through." 

. v 

APRIL 23.— EVENING. 

" Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus 
Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them 
which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." 1 Tim. i, 
16. 

The Lord Jesus never acts without design ; and his 
purposes are worthy of himself. When we consider 
its capacity and duration, the evils from which it is 
rescued, and the blessings to which it is advanced, the 



144 April 23. — Evening. 

salvation of one soul is a work infinitely greater than 
the deliverance of a whole conntry from civil bond- 
age ; and therefore there is joy in the presence of the 
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Yet in 
the conversion of Saul of Tarsus his aim did not ter- 
minate in his salvation, all important as it was. Ho 
looked far beyond, and intended that it should bear 
innuentially on the recovery of others to the end of 
time. 

And thus we see the greatness of his beneficence 
Men wish to have their goodness known; but it is 
from self-love, and not from kindness. It is to gain 
applause, and not to excite and bring others to their 
door. And therefore they sometimes enjoin those 
they relieve to say nothing of their bounty, not from 
humility but economy, lest applications should be too 
numerous. But the Lord Jesus knows his resources ; 
and is not afraid of multiplied importunity. He 
wishes his favours to be known, that others may come 
and be relieved ; for he delighteth in mercy. 

How many principles are involved in the design 
here expressed! — The subjects of Divine grace be 
lieve on him to life everlasting. — A succession of 
these believers will arise from age to age. — They will 
find it no easy thing to believe on him, and will feel 
their need of strong consolation. — Encouragement is 
necessary ; for nothing can be done without hope and 
confidence. — The Saviour is concerned to furnish the 
relief. — And in doing this he produces actual ex- 
amples of the freshness and fulness of his grace. 
Facts strike; they furnish us with sensible evidence. 
A debtor frankly forgiven an immense sum when 
going to prison, and having nothing to pay, shews 
forth most impressively the clemency of the creditor. 



Apkil 23. — Evening. 145 

The goodness of a prince appears in pardoning the 
greatest crimes against him. This indeed is rarely 
done among men. In all acts of grace some excep- 
tions are made. The ringleaders are excluded. Their 
impunity would seem a connivance at rebellion, and 
wo aid endanger the safety and welfare of the state. 
But he saves sinners, says the Apostle, of whom I am 
chief. Here the ringleader of the persecutors, who 
gave unity to their counsels and stimulus to their 
zeal, is laid hold of, not to be punished, but pardoned 
— laid hold of too for this purpose in the very act of 
rebellion and treason — and made a pattern of mercy, 
to encourage others to trust in him. 

We know what effect this kindness had upon him- 
self. It changed his mind. It melted his heart. It 
softened the lion into a lamb. Behold, he prayeth- — 
prayeth to him whom a moment before he had ab- 
horred — " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" 
And from that moment, the love of Christ constrained 
him to live to him that died for him, and rose again. 

What effect has it upon us ? Do we continue in 
sin, that grace may abound ? Grod forbid ! " No man 
can quicken his own soul. We cannot change our 
own heart. The Bible is a sealed book till we are en- 
lightened. It is useless for us to pray without the 
Spirit. If we belong to his people, he will call' us in 
due time."— This is the devil's reasoning ; and it is 
not the better for employing the language of Scrip- 
ture, or of perverted orthodoxy. And what a proof 
is it, that we are not yet sensible of our lost concll^ 
tion! — If we were, we could not sit still, and thus 
argue or cavil. We should resemble a man who 
found himself in a house on fire — he must move- 
he could not avoid striving to escape, though at first, 

7 



146 Apkil 24. — Morning. 

perhaps, not by the right passage. What a proof is 
it that we are not really desirous of salvation ! else 
»ve should say, " I have read Paul's case. It meets 
my condition. I am unworthy ; so was he. But he 
obtained mercy ; and why should I be refused ?" 

This is the proper use of it— I see in this model, 
his power and his compassion — I will go to his foot- 
stool, and cry, " Lord, save, I perish ;" " God be mer- 
ciful to me, a sinner I" 

It should equally encourage us with regard to 
others. Despondency chills our zeal, and prevents 
our efforts to save others. But why should we cease 
to pray, and use all the means within our power ? 
Duty is ours ; and none of our fellow-creatures are 
beyond his reach, who called by his grace a Saul of 
Tarsus. 

Blessed Jesus ! Thou art fairer than the children 
of men ! But while we admire thee, we would also 
resemble. May thy mind be in us! Art thou so 
longsuffering towards us, and shall we bear with no- 
thing in our brethren ? Art thou so ready to forgive, 
and shall we be revengeful ? Didst thou when rich, 
for our sakes become poor, and shall we be masses of 
pure selfishness, and never deny ourselves to promote 
the welfare of others ? 



APRIL 24.— MORNING. 
" But now they are hid from thine eyes." Luke xix. 42. 

When Pharaoh saw there was respite, he hardened 
his heart. Solomon tells us, Because sentence against 
an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the 
hearts of the sons of men are fullv set in them to do 



April 24. — Morning. 147 

evil. But God's keeping silence is not approbation. 
His longsuffering is not even connivance. He can 
be merciful, without allowing us to trifle, and insult 
him for ever. His patience has its rules and its 
bounds. And Jerusalem knew this. 

Much has been said on what is termed a day of 
grace; and much which we neither admire nor be- 
lieve. "We are not authorized to say any one is be- 
yond hope, while he is yet in life. Manasseh would 
have seemed very likely to be such a desperate cha- 
racter ; but he obtained mercy. 

" And while the lamp holds out to burn, 
The vilest sinner may return." 

If we cannot view any of our fellow -creatures as 
beyond the possibility of salvation, so we have no 
rule by which we can absolutely determine against 
ourselves. — Yet there are several things of fearful im- 
port, to which we do well to attend. 

First. The language of the word of God is fear- 
ful. "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone." 
"Israel would none of me; so I gave them up to 
their own hearts' lust." " In thy filthiness is lewd- 
ness : because I have purged thee, and thou wast not 
purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness 
any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon 
thee'." "If we sin wilfully after that we have re- 
ceived the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth 
no more sacrifice for sin ; but a certain fearful look- 
ing-for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall 
devour the adversaries." '• Because I have called, 
and ye refused : I have stretched out my hand, and 
no man regarded : but ye have set at nought all my 
counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will 



148 April 24. — Morxln'G. 

laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear 
cometh." ; ' Behold, now is the accepted time: be- 
hold, now is the day of salvation." We offer no 
commentary on these passages — but, surely, their 
language is fearful. 

Secondly. TTe know that final impenitency is irre- 
coverably hopeless ; and with life all our opportuni- 
ties end — and this is fearful. It would not be kind- 
ness, but cruelty, to flatter men with a contrary ex- 
pectation. — Search the Scripture, and you will always 
find a difference between, the present and the future. 
One is a state of trial, the other of decision. The one 
is sowing, the other reaping : and whatsoever a man 
soweth, that shall he also reap. Is not this sufficient 
to induce us to seek the Lord while he may be found ; 
and to call upon him while he is near ? 

Thirdly. This life, upon which every thing de- 
pends, is very brief — this is fearful. Look at the 
images of Scripture : a flower of the field ; a flood ; 
a watch in the night ; a dream ; a vapour. Consider 
the deaths that come under your own observation. 
Observe the frailty of your frame. Eemember the 
numberless diseases and accidents to which you are 
exposed. Think of your pulse, where the question is 
asked sixty times every minute, whether you shall 
live or die. 

Fourthly. Our continuance here is as uncertain as 
it is short — this is fearful. "I have not had," said a 
good man. " a to-morrow for years." It would be 
well if we had not. Indeed we have not in reality, 
whatever we may have in imagination. "Boast not 
thyself of to-morrow ; for thou knowest not what a 
day may bring forth." 

Fifthly. Before this short and uncertain period 



April 24. — Morning. 149 

terminates, many opportunities and advantages may 
elapse, to return no more — this is fearful. Many con- 
victions may die away, no more to be renewed again 
unto repentance. We may be deprived of reason; 
and religion can only operate through the medium of 
thought. Old age helps on insensibility ; and before 
we are aware, though unpardoned and unrenewed, we 
may become incapable of a moral change. The Gospel 
may be removed from us. We may be placed where 
it is not in our power to attend it.. We may become 
deaf, or blind. Sickness may confine us. to a room of 
pain, or a bed of languishing. The influences neces- 
sary to render the means of grace effectual may be 
withholden. Though Paul plants, and Apollos waters, 
God alone gives the increase : and though we can do 
nothing to deserve 'his grace, we may provoke his 
anger; and he may judicially give us up to a reprobate 
mind. The heart is hardened through the deceitful- 
ness of sin — and no less so by familiarity with divine 
things. And is not this the case with many ? Once 
their consciences smote them. They dropped a tear 
upon their Bible. When walking alone, among the 
works of God, they prayed, "Lord, I am thine; save 
me." But Felix no more trembles. And the Gada- 
renes have besought the healer of their neighbours, 
and the reprover of their sin, to depart out of their 
coasts ; and he is gone for ever ! 



150 April 24. — Evening. 



APRIL 24.— EVENING. 

" And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that 
he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And he went on his 
journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his 
tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai ; unto the 
place of the altar, which he had made there at the first : and there 
Abram called on the name of the Lord." Gex. xiii. 1, 3, 4. 

In this movement of Abram two things are noticed 
— whence he came — and whither he went. 

"He went up out of Egypt." But how came he 
there? He was driven by famine. Skin for skin, 
yea all that a man hath will he give for his life. 
Abram therefore was justified in going thither. We 
are not to starve if we can obtain subsistence lawfully. 
We tempt Grod if we do not avail ourselves of the 
means and opportunities of relief and assistance which 
he affords us in the course of his providence. For 
though we are to cast our care, we are not to cast our 
duty upon the Lord ; and it is only in the way of duty 
that we can trust in him. But we may be found in 
places and conditions at the call of duty or necessity 
in which we are not to abide. Naomi and the Shu- 
namite who had fled to Moab in the dearth, returned 
like true Israelites when they heard that the Lord had 
visited his people with bread. And Abram did not 
settle in Egypt, but only sojourned there. He had 
succeeded while there, so as to increase in wealth, and 
Egypt was at this time the most famous country on 
earth : but it had been to him a place of temptation ; 
it was irreligious; and Canaan was the land which 
the Lord had shewn him — the land of promise. And 
what is this world to us, if we are the children of 
Abram by faith, but a temporary residence ? It is 



April 24.- — Evening. 151 

not our home : it is not our rest. And we must arise 
and depart hence, in thought, affection, and pursuit; 
and by a readiness to leave it actually whenever our 
change comes. If we are the heirs of promise, Canaan 
will draw us out of Egypt. 

"And he went on, even to Beth-el." There he 
had dwelt before. It is affecting to return to a place 
where we formerly resided. Who can help reflecting 
upon his sins there ? (for wherever we have lived we 
have proved ourselves to be sinners,) and the blessings 
he enjoyed there; and his trials; and the changes 
which have taken place, and the progress of his time 
since? But Abram had not only dwelt at Beth-el, 
but dwelt there as a man of faith, piety, and prayer. 
What a difference is there between returning to a 
place where we lived without God in the world ; and 
to one where we loved and served God, and walked 
with him, and said of many a spot, " This is none 
other than the house of God, and this is the gate* of 
heaven!" 

Observe how pleasingly and significantly this is 
expressed with regard to Abram — He came "unto 
the place where his tent had been from the beginning, 
between Beth-el and Hai ; unto the place of the altar 
which he had made there at the first — and there Abram 
called on the name of the Lord." Thus we see his 
devotion here was not a novelty — it had been a constant 
usage. As soon as he pitched a tent for himself he 
reared an altar for God. Where he resided, he sacri- 
ficed and worshipped with his household. And they 
who would be the children of Abram must walk in 
his steps, and be concerned to keep up the service of 
God with their families. Family- worship is no recent 
thing. It is the good old way, in which even the 



152 Apeil 25. — Morning. 

patriarchs walked. I pity as well as condemn the 
man who has a "tent," but no "altar." God threatens 
to pour out his fury upon the families that call not 
upon his name. Therefore says Solomon, " The curse 
of the Lord is in the house of the wicked; but he 
blesseth the habitation of the just." 

— Abram thus called upon the name of the Lord, 
notwithstanding the character of his neighbours ; for 
the chapter tells us, " The Oanaanite and the Perizzite 
dwelled then in the land." And they were idolaters, 
and vicious to a proverb. They would therefore op- 
pose, and laugh, and ridicule — But Abram was not 
ashamed of his glory — Yea, as he was the more bound, 
so he was the more disposed and determined to con- 
fess him before men. And "them that honour me," 
says God, "I will honour; and they that despise me 
shall be lightly esteemed." 



APEIL 25.— MOKMNG. 

"In the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out,, 
and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." Mark i. 35. 

And yet he had been greatly occupied the whole 
of the day preceding this. We think little of time ; 
but he never passed an idle hour. The whole of his 
life said, I must work the works of him that sent me, 
while it is yet day : the night cometh wherein no 
man can work. He was really a man ; he took our 
infirmities : and wearied nature required repose : but 
he distinguished between the necessary and the need- 
less ; and even between refreshment and indulgence ; 
and while he enjoined self-denial upon his disciples, 
as the very first lesson in his school, "he pleased not 
himself." 



April 25. — Morning. 153 

It is allowed that, as to the measure of sleep, no 
one rule can be laid down for all. Some require more 
than others. But it is questionable whether they re- 
quire much more. Yea, it may be questioned, whether 
they require any more, as to length. What they want 
more of. is better sleep : and the quality would be im- 
proved by lessening the quantity. Let those who are 
now so wakeful, an'd restless, and can only sleep sound 
when they ought to be rising — let them try the ex- 
pedient, and see whether a few hours of sweet and 
solid sleep be not preferable to the privilege of being 
bedridden, rather than of enjoying repose. 

We should also inquire too, whether we have not 
produced the habit itself that now demands so much 
to satisfy it. If so, we are accountable for the cause, 
as well as the effect.' 

— We should also be always fearful and suspicious 
when our reasonings and pleadings are on the side of 
gratification and ease. It is here, where nothing sinful 
is thought of, and no danger appears, — it is here we 
peculiarly need the admonition, Watch and pray, lest 
ye enter into temptation, The spirit indeed is willing, 
but the flesh is weak. 

— Some live only to do evil. We do not wish 
them to rise early. They are only harmless while they 
sleep. 

— Some live a life of mere indolence and ease. 
They are indeed free from vice, but they have no 
useful employment. It is of little importance at what 
time they rise. — There is very little difference between 
their sleeping and wakeful hours. The one is as bar- 
ren as the other of any active endeavours to glorify 
God, or serve their generation, or work out their own 
salvation. 



154 April 25. — Morning. 

But surely there are some who feel that life is in- 
finitely important: who know that they are placed 
here to gain good and to do good: who remember 
that the only opportunities they have 'for both, are 
short and uncertain— Surely these will not sleep as 
do others — Surely these will feel the excitement and 
reproach — It is high time to awake out of sleep — They 
that sleep, sleep in the night. 

— In a word, has not early rising every recommen- 
dation ? Is it not ■physically advantageous ? Is it not 
better for health? Consult your strength, your ap- 
petite, your nerves, your spirits, your complexion. 
Ask your physician. Is there a medical man upon 
earth that would risk his reputation by a contrary 
opinion? Sinclair, in his volumes on health and 
longevity, remarks, that though those who lived to a 
very great age differed in many things, they all re- 
sembled each other here. There was not one of them 
but rose early. 

— Is it not desirable as to our civil concerns? 
"What an advantage has a tradesman by early rising — 
in planning and arranging his concerns for the day; 
in forwarding his work, and placing it under his com- 
mand; and in having leisure for any incidental en- 
gagement, without stopping or deranging the usual 
course of his calling : — While another, who has said, 
A little more sleep, a little more slumber ; and who 
begins at ten what he should have commenced at 
six ; is thrown into haste and confusion ; hurries on, 
to overtake himself; finds through the day his duty 
a turmoil; and feels himself a drudge. If we turn 
from the shop and look into the family, what a dif- 
ference between the early and late mistress ! and the 
early and the late servant ! Even those who do not 



Apkil 25.— Morning. 155 

practise early rising themselves plead for the im- 
portance % of it in their domestics, and would never 
engage them without it. Indeed the reputation of 
every individual, whatever be his condition in life, is 
concerned in it ; and his character, in the feelings of 
others, is unavoidably lowered by late rising, unless 
there be a known and justifiable cause. 

— Above all, is it not morally important? The 
Heathens said, the morning was the friend to the 
Muses. It is surely a friend to the Graces. If it be 
the best time for study, it is also the best time for de- 
votion. It is better to go from prayer to business 
than from business to prayer. Intercourse with God 
prepares us for our intercourse with our fellow- 
creatures; and for every occurrence, whether pleasing 
or painful. Who would go out in the morning, not 
knowing what a day may bring forth, and feeling his 
ignorance, and weakness, and depravity, and danger 
— without retiring first, and committing himself to 
God? Boerhaave, the celebrated physician, rose early 
in the morning, and, through life, his practice was to 
retire an hour for private prayer and meditation. 
This, he often told his friends, gave him firmness and 
vigour for the business of the day. He commended 
it, therefore, from experience, as one of the best rules 
of life. The great Judge Hale, too, rose early, and 
retired for prayer, and read a portion of God's word j 
without which, he said, nothing prospered with him 
all %l$ clay, But see the I 4 ord of all !w^ na t did He? 



156 Apkil 25. — Evening. 



APRIL 25.— EVENING. 



"Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's 
sake and thine often infirmities." 1 Tim. v. 23. 

It may at first seem strange that Paul should only 
have recourse to ordinary means, such as any other 
person would have used on the same occasion — that 
he should advise and prescribe as a friend, instead of 
employing the powers he possessed as an Apostle. 
But as the working of miracles was a delegated pre- 
rogative, so it was limited. It was confined to par- 
ticular moments and subjects. Otherwise John, in- 
stead of wishing above all things that his beloved 
Gaius was in health, would have healed him: and 
Paul would not have left his companion Trophimus at 
Miletum sick. Simon Magus wished to obtain the 
gift of working miracles for the purposes of vanity 
and gain. It is easy to see, from the disposition of 
the people to worship Paul and Barnabas when they 
had healed the cripple at Lystra, what a source of 
honour and emolument the ability would have be- 
come, had it been at the option of the possessors. 
Even good men, being imperfect while here, might 
have been tempted to pervert it, or have sometimes 
used it with respect of persons, influenced by natural 
or partial affection. The effect, therefore, depended 
entirely upon the pleasure of the Almighty. How 
useful was Timothy! How highly did the Apostle 
think of him — how strongly was he attached to him — ■ 
how peculiarly was he concerned for his welfare ! yet 
though he had performed so many wonders and signs, 
he can only with regard even to him, sympathise, and 
pray, and admonish — "Drink no longer water, but 



Apeil 25. — Evening. 157 

use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often 
infirmities." 

Bat here we see the importance of health. Of all 
natural blessings it is the most personal, and the most 
prized. It is not so much of an ingredient in human 
happiness as the foundation of it. With the Grecians 
it was a goddess. The Lycaonians worshipped the 
image of health, and the women offered to it their hair, 
which is their glory — That is, they sacrificed ornament 
to health — Some females have sacrificed health to 
ornament. Have we ever looked into the wards of 
an hospital or an infirmary ? Have we ever visited 
the sick chamber of a friend or neighbor? — what 
confinement ! what restlessness ! what disrelishes ! what 
loathings ! what days of languishing ! what wearisome 
nights ! Health is never so valued as when it brings 
a letter of recommendation from sickness. Have we 
been the subject of it ? What were then a well-spread 
table, an elegantly furnished room, the aspects of the 
garden and field, the charms of the favorite author ! 
Cowper and Milton with their heavenly harps sing 
their songs to a heavy heart. 

But health is important, not only as to enjoyment, 
but usefulness. The discharge of almost all the duties 
of life depends upon it. How much is suspended 
upon the indisposition of a minister whose lips feed 
many ! — How much upon the illness of a wife, a mo- 
ther, the mistress of the family, the centre, the eye, 
the hand, the soul of the domestic system ! — It is only 
at such a time and in such circumstances her utility 
can be fully felt. Health too has its spiritual bearings. 
In all the works of religion the body is the companion 
of the soul, but in many it is the instrument. We 
cannot read, or hear, or sing, or go to the house of 



158 Apkil 25.— Evening. 

God without it. Many of what good people call their 
temptations, and doubts, and fears, are only physical 
effects. The frame is disordered through which they 
see and feel. Hence they are affected even in their 
intercourse with God ; and when they consider, are 
afraid of him. How many privileges too, in the means 
of grace, are they deprived of while they are the pri- 
soners of sickness, the remembrance of which draws 
forth their tears ! 

Here we see that very good men and very useful 
men may be the subjeets of bodily affliction. Timothy 
had a weakly, sickly constitution, and Paul speaks of 
his "frequent infirmities" or indispositions. Many 
other excellent individuals mentioned in the Scripture 
were exercised in the same way. And so it has been 
in every age of the Church. We are acquainted with 
the biography of many eminent servants of God in 
modern times, who prosecuted the duties of their 
callings under weaknesses and pains, a small part of 
which would keep many professors of religion from 
the sanctuary of God, by the month or the year. — But 
let not the weak and sickly suppose that what has 
befallen them is not common to men — The same 
afflictions have happened to their brethren who were 
before them in the world. And if we knew all, we 
should cease to wonder at such dispensations. The 
Lord's love to his people is great, but it is wise ; and 
he regulates his measures not by their wishes, but 
their welfare. There is a " needs-be" for every ail- 
ment, and every pain. While he chastens, he teaches 
us out of his law. The tender mother overlooks none 
of her offspring: but the breathless tread, the pillow ul 
couch, the knee, the bosom, the indulgence, are for 
the little invalid endeared by the pain he suffers, and 



Apeil 25. — Evening. 159 

even by the care lie creates — And what says God ? 
"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I com- 
fort you." — 

We learn also that we may err on the side of defi- 
ciency as well as excess. There are always two 
extremes : yet, in going from the one, we rarely con- 
sider that we are in any danger from the other. But 
wisdom leads in the way of righteousness; in the 
midst of the paths of judgment : and it becomes us. 
with regard to all oar concerns and movements, to 
hear the word behind us, saying, "This is the way, 
walk ye in it when we turn to the right hand, or 
when we turn to the left." We may fail as to the 
spirit Ave are of, not only on the side of a bold and 
firm temper, but on the side of a tender and candid 
one. A man is required to be diligent in business, 
but he must not entangle himself in the affairs of this 
life. He ought to be economical and frugal, but he 
may run into closeness and meanness. Even tem- 
perance, so useful and commendable, may become a 
snare ; and there have been instances of persons under 
a religious motive, injuring themselves by self-denial 
and abstinence. Timothy was in danger of this. He 
had to this time used water only, but he was following 
this abstemiousness too exclusively and too long: his 
system now required something more- generous, and 
restorative, and strengthening , and therefore says his 
friend, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine 
for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." 

As there was nothing in Paul enthusiastical, or 
leading him to the neglect of means and rational 
means, so there was nothing in him favouring of su- 
perstition. He withholds a Christian from no creature- 
comfort. He knew of none of those prohibitions, 



160 Apeil 25.— Evening. 

" Touch not, taste not, handle not," which have pro- 
duced such results in the church of Eome, unless to 
foretell and condemn them: "in the latter times some 
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to -seducing 
spirits, and doctrines of devils ; forbidding to marry, 
and commanding to abstain from meats, which God 
hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them 
which believe and know the truth. For every creature 
of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be 
received with thanksgiving: for it is- sanctified by the 
word of God and prayer." David observes, that God 
bringeth forth out of the earth "wine that maketh glad 
the heart of man, and oil to make his face shine," as 
well as " bread that strengtheneth man's heart." And 
his son made no scruple to say to a good man, "Eat 
thy bread with cheerfulness, and drink thy wine with 
a merry heart, for God hath accepted thy works." 

But we have here laid down the rules we are to 
observe in the use of natural refreshments. They 
are two, and they contain all that is necessary upon 
the subject. The first is moderation — "Drink a little 
wine." We should fear danger, especially in an article 
of indulgence. The evil steals upon us by degrees, 
and therefore insensibly. Who ever became intem- 
perate at once? or without resolutions to the contrary ? 
" Nature," says Hall, "is content with little; grace 
with less." The second regards our design — " for thy 
stomach's sake and thine often infirmities" That is, we 
are to use these good things, not for the mere gratifi- 
cation of appetite, but to fit us for our stations, and to 
enable us to serve God. The former within proper 
bounds, is a lawful use ; the latter is a pious one. In 
the first, the creature only appears ; in the second, the 
Christian is seen. Some live to eat and drink ; some 



Apkil 26. — Morning. 161 

eat and drink to live. The former are the dishonour, 



the latter are the glory, of human kind. Even in 
common things the partakers of Divine grace are a 
peculiar people — Their motive distinguishes them. 
This turns a natural action into a spiritual duty. This 
also enlarges the province of their religion to the ex- 
tent of all their concerns : keeps them waiting upon 
God all the day long ; and enables them, whether they 
eat, or drink, or whatever they do, to do all to the 
glory of God. 



APRIL 26.— MORNING. 
" Sitting at the feet of Jesus." Luke viii. 35. 

— This was a jolace of nearness. Love longs to be 
near its attraction — and this man loves his benefactor, 
and feels his obligations to his pity and power. 

— It was a place of safety. He naturally dreaded 
the return of the malady, and the devils gaining pos- 
session of "him again — he therefore keeps close to his 
Deliverer. 

It was the place of instruction. The two former 
purposes might have been answered by his sitting at 
the side of Jesus. But sitting at his feet was the po- 
sition and posture of a learner. " They sat down at 
his feet," says Moses, when God was on the top of 
Horeb, and the people at the bottom, " and received 
of his words." Isaiah, speaking of Abraham, says, 
" God called him to his feet." Martha had a sister, 
" who also sat at Jesus' feet." Saul of Tarsus " was 
brought up at the feet of Gamaliel." In all these in- 
stances there is a reference to the ancient and Eastern 
custom — when the master occupied a higher seat, and 



162 April 26. — Morning. 

the scholars were sitting at his feet — as hereby he had 
them in view, and they were reminded, by their very 
place, of the reverence and submission which became 
them as learners. 

This is the place we should all be found in. But 
how is it possible for us to sit at his feet now ? He 
said, I am no more in the world : and the heavens 
have received him till the restitution of all things. It 
is true, he is no longer here corporeally ; but he is 
here spiritually. He is not visible, but he is acces- 
sible. 

We have his Throne, and his House, and his Word, 
and his ministers, and his ordinances — We have Him- 
self: for he has said, Lo ! I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world. Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them — We can, therefore, sit at his feet. 
And, in recommendation of this place, let us observe 
the excellences of the Master, and the advantages of 
his disciples ; for the one involves the other. 

And here we must not overlook the dignity of his 
character. A tutor seems to shed lustre over his 
pupils : and scholars have always prided themselves 
in the name of an illustrious preceptor. A young 
Israelitish prophet would have boasted in having been 
in the school of Samuel, or Elijah. How far did the 
Queen of Sheba come to hear the wisdom of Solo- 
mon ! — But, behold, a greater than Solomon is here ! 
— One fairer than the children of men — He is Lord 
of All. See the poor, despised Christian. He is de- 
barred every seat of learning among men ; but he is 
under a Divine instructor, and such honour have all 
his saints. For, so highly are they related ; so pecu- 
liar is their destination ; so sublime are the stations 



April 26.— Morning. 163 

they are to fill, and the functions they are to dis- 
charge, as kings and priests unto God for ever ; that 
their education is not entrusted to a creature — All 
thy children shall be taught of the Lord. 

There is, also, the perfection of his ability. In him 
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 
Other teachers may be mistaken, and they may de- 
ceive us. They cannot, therefore, deserve our im- 
plicit and absolute confidence. But he knows every 
thing, and every thing perfectly. We cannot, there 
fore, rely too much on his decisions. Heaven and 
earth may pass away ; but his word shall not pass 
away. 

There is the kindness of his manner. Men often 
discourage, and intimidate learners, by their distance, 
hastiness, and austerity. They have not longs uffer- 
ing, and gentleness, and tenderness enough, to attract 
and attach the very soul of the pupil ; to soften and 
shame him, if perverse ; to fix him, if roving and 
volatile ; to inspire him with confidence, if timid ; and 
to produce in him at once, that freedom and applica- 
tion of mind, so essential to improvement, and so in- 
compatible with agitation and confusion of spirit. 
For something besides talent — and may we not say, 
something beyond talent ? — is required in a teacher. 
In proportion to the greatness of his knowledge, and 
the quickness and facility of his apprehension, a mas- 
ter will be tried by the imperfections of his scholars ; 
and the scholars will be the more liable to be abashed 
and depressed. Conscious of their ignorance, and in- 
ability, and slowness, they will be reluctant, and afraid 
to give up themselves to such a superior tutor— unless 
he has other qualities : and such a tutor will not be 
very likely to waste, as he would suppose, his time 



164 April 26. — Morning. 

and talents, upon such unpromising subjects. But 
we sit at the feet of One, whose condescension equals 
his greatness. He will stoop to teach me, even where 
I must begin. He will accommodate himself to my 
wants and weakness. He will repeat his lessons. He 
will give me line upon line, precept upon precept, 
here a little and there a little — and upbraid not. 
Thus he taught his immediate disciples, as they were 
able to bear it, and loved them to the end, notwith- 
standing;' their mistakes and infirmities. And thus he 
said to his hearers ; Learn of me, for I am meek and 
lowly in heart. Does he not refer to himself in these 
attributes as a motive, as well as an example ? As 
much as to say, "You need not be afraid to place 
yourselves under my care — I will deal tenderly with 
you." 

— There is also the efficiency of his tuition. None 
teaches like him. Other masters teach, but they can- 
not make their pupils learn. They can improve, but 
they cannot impart ability : and Avithout some apti- 
tude for an art or science, little progress will be made 
under the best efforts. What could Handel or Haydn 
have done with a clown, without any taste or ear for 
music ? But Jesus gives the capacity and the dispo- 
sition he requires. He furnishes, not only the me- 
dium, but the faculty of vision. He makes the blind 
to see. And though, like the morning, we set off with 
a few rays only, our path is like that of the shining 
light that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
day. 

But what are the instructions He gives ! What is 
all other knowledge compared with this ? Ask Paul ; 
he was a man of genius and learning ; he did not de- 
spise science — yet he exclaims, "Yea, doubtless, and 1 



Apkil 26. — Morning. 165 

count all things but loss for the excellency of the know- 
ledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." Of other knowledge 
we may be destitute, and yet safe. But this is life eter- 
nal. Other knowledge leaves us as it finds us; yea, 
it often injures the possessor ; and talent caters for 
depravity. But a man at his feet feels his words to be 
spirit and life. He is taught to "deny ungodliness and 
worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and 
godly, in the present world." In other cases, " in much 
wisdom there is much grief; and he that increaseth 
knowledge, increaseth sorrow;" but, "Blessed are the 
people that know the joyful sound." The burden of 
guilt is removed, and they enter into rest. They cast 
all their care on Him, who careth for them. Their 
minds are kept in perfect peace. They can not only 
bear, but enjoy solitude. Even in the midst of trouble 
they are revived ; and rejoice in hope of the glory of 
Grod — How sweet are his words unto their taste ! yea, 
sweeter than honey to their mouth ! 

~No wonder, therefore, the disciple prizes his privi- 
lege: and cannot be seduced from his Master's feet. 
He has been taught the truth as it is in Jesus ! He 
knows the truth ; and the truth has made him free. 
And, therefore, upon the question, when others are 
offended, "Will ye also go away?" he answers, with 
Peter — Where can we do so well? Lord, to whom 
shall we go ? To sin ? That hath ruined us. To the 
world ? That has deceived us. To the heathen phi- 
losophers ? Their foolish hearts are darkened. To the 
Chief Priests and Pharisees ? They are the blind lead- 
ing the blind. To the Law ? That roars, and flames 
despair. To Moses? He wrote of Thee. To thee 
gave all the Prophets witness. Lord, to whom should 
wo go, but unto thee ? Thou hast the words of eter- 
nal life. 



166 Apkil 26.— Evening. 



APRIL 26.— EVENING. 

"Willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present 
with the Lord." 2 Cor. v. 8. 

It seems impossible to read these words and not ad- 
mit that Paul and his companions believed three things 
— That they were complex beings, and had spirits 
which could be present with the Lord when absent 
from the body — That there was an intermediate state 
between death and the resurrection, so that as soon as 
they were absent from the body they were present with 
the Lord — And that their being present with the Lord 
was the completion of their happiness and their hope. 

Hence their wish. It was not an absolute desire, 
but a preference. Their state here under the influence 
of Divine grace admitted of comfort, and demanded 
gratitude. But to depart to be with Christ was far bet- 
ter. They were therefore " willing rather to be absent 
from the body, and present with the Lord." 

This seems to have been very much in the beginning 
of the Gospel a common experience. Hence we read 
of looking for that blessed hope ; waiting for his Son 
from heaven ; loving his appearing ; hasting unto the 
coming of the day of God ; and crying, Amen ; even 
so, come, Lord Jesus. Those also who were called by 
Divine grace at the reformation in Germany, and at the 
revival of evangelical religion in our own country, 
seemed familiar with death ; were not shocked to be 
reminded of their age and infirmities ; and loved to talk 
with each other of going home. 

Yet all cannot receive this saying. Even the sub- 
jects of redemption are said to be, through fear of 
death, all their lifetime not actually in b.ndage, but 



April 26. — Evening. 167 

subject to it. The desire of death cannot be natural; 
nature must abhor its own dissolution. Yet what is 
impossible to nature is possible to grace. We com- 
monly find more of this willingness to leave 'the world 
among the poor and afflicted of the Saviour's follow- 
ers: they have much to wean, as well as to draw: 
their consolations correspond with their sufferings : and 
the Lord is found a very present help in trouble. 
When the love of life can subserve no important pur- 
pose, it declines ; and the fear of death commonly di- 
minishes as the event approaches. Thousands who 
often trembled before, have at last been joyful in glo- 
ry, and shouted aloud upon their beds. Clouds and 
darkness have obscured their day : but at even-tide it 
has been light. 

All believers have cause enough, if they knew it, to 
make them long for their removal. For to die is gain, 
unspeakable and everlasting gain. They then ex- 
change faith for sight : and hope for possession : and 
that which is in part for that which is perfect. 

And the apprehension of many of the Lord's peo- 
ple regards the manner of their departure rather than 
the effect. The parting scene ; the pains, the groans, 
the dying strife ; the separation of soul and body, and 
the consignment of the flesh to corruption and worms ; 
all this leads them to say, with good Dr. Conyers, I am 
not afraid of death, but of dying. 

And indeed all real Christians must long for the 
consequences : in being fully like their Saviour ; and 
able to serve him, and to enjoy him completely. But 
they resemble the man whose beloved family is abroad. 
He would rather therefore be with them — But while 
he feels the attraction, he shudders at the sea and the 



168 April 27.— Moiling. 

sickness. Watts represents the believer as loving the 
Canaan beyond, but dreading the Jordan between. 

Well, if you really love the heaven of the Christian, 
that is, a- heaven derived from being present with the 
Lord ; fear not, but thank God and take courage. 
Either you will have, like the Israelites, a dry-shod 
march across the river; or if, like Bunyan's pilgrims, 
you wade through, your feet shall feel the bottom, and 
your eyes shall see the shining ones ready to receive 
you onshore. Your passage will be safe and short; 
and the issue an abundant entrance into the joy of 
your Lord. 

" ' Tis pleasant to believe "his grace, 
But we would rather see ; 
We would be absent from the flesh, 
And present, Lord, with thee." 



APRIL 27.— MORXIXG. 
"Members one of another." Rom. xii. 5. 

All mankind are joined together by a connexion 
which only death can dissolve. The remoteness of 
the situation in which we are placed does not hinder 
this connexion, but rather strengthens it. We see 
this in the traffic of different nations, and their mutual 
exchange of commodities. The inhabitants of one 
region cultivate the productions of the ground, and 
produce articles of manufacture, for the use of those 
of another ; and those of another do the same in re- 
turn for them ; and we sometimes find the four quar- 
ters of the globe in the furniture of one house, or the 



Apkil 27. — Morning. 169 

provisions of one table. The sea, which seemed 
likely to separate the dwellers upon earth, has, in the 
progress of science and arts, rendered them accessible 
to each other- and navigation has become the principal 
medium of trade. 

There are various distinctions in life; and the 
Scripture does not discountenance them. Neither 
are we to view them as selfish, or terminating only in 
the advantage of the superior ranks. The lowest are 
useful, as well as the highest. The rich benefit the 
poor ; and the poor labour for the rich. The king is 
the protector of his subjects; and every subject con- 
tributes to the support of the king : the king is served 
by the labour of the field. There is no such thing as 
independence; and were it not for ignorance and 
pride, we should never think of it. The under ranks 
are even the basis of the community ; the lowest parts 
of the wall sustain the higher. The more we rise and 
possess, the less claim have we to independence ; as a 
larger building requires more support than a smaller. 
A nobleman employs a thousand hands; a peasant 
wants but two — and these are his own. 
. — If this reasoning be true as to men, it is more so 
as to Christians. And it is in this light Paul so fre- 
quently and largely speaks of it — "I say, through the 
grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, 
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to 
think; but to think soberly, according as God hath 
dealt to every man the measure of faith." To shew 
how important it is to display a mutual dependence, 
he remarks — " The eye cannot say unto the hand, I 
have no need of thee : nor again the head to the feet, 
I have no need of you. Nay, much more those mem- 
bers of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are 
S 



170 April 27. — Morning. 

necessary." They have all their respective places and 
uses. Each is necessary ; necessary to each, and neces- 
sary to the whole ; necessary to the beauty, the strength, 
the happiness, the perfection of the whole — Why, then, 
should we set at naught a brother ? 

Yet the harmony is often broken, and a schism 
found in the body. The Christian Church would 
never have been reduced to its present disjointed 
state, if the members had not been beguiled from the 
simplicity that is in Christ. The first wrong step 
took them to a distance from the Spirit ; and as though 
Christ had been divided, and had imparted himself 
and his Grospel to some, exclusively of others; the 
names of creatures become noted as the sources from 
which particular doctrines were derived, and by whom 
particular modes of discipline were established. The 
words the Holy Ghost used were less regarded than 
the words which man's wisdom teacheth. The worthy 
name by which Christians were originally called was 
no longer sufficient. They ranged themselves under 
different leaders, and called out "Kabbi;" forgetting 
who had forbidden this ; and that one was their Mas- 
ter, even Christ, while all they were only brethren. 
Hence feuds and animosities followed ; and the pro- 
fessors of meekness itself learned to bite and devour 
one another. The consequences of such measures 
are known and felt even at the present day : and 
though much of the violence of religious parties has 
subsided, distinctions unscriptural and unnecessary 
(in the degree, at least) are supported: and though 
all hold the same Head, the members of one com- 
munion often look for no more honour and assistance 
from those of another, than if they were not of the 
body. 



April 27. — Morning. 171 

But "if the foot shall say, Because I am not the 
hand, 1 am not of the body ; is it therefore not of the 
body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not 
the eye, I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of 
the body?" "But now are they many members, yet 
but one body;" "that there should be no schism in 
the body; but that the members should have the 
same care one for another. And whether one mem- 
ber suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one 
member be honoured, all the members rejoice with 
it." " For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one 
body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be 
bond or free ; and have been all made to drink into 
one Spirit." 

— Christians are not only as so many members in a 
natural body, but as so many members in a civil, or 
domestic state. However different and distant they 
were by nature from each other, an effectual method 
has been taken by Divine Grace to bring them to- 
gether. They are reconciled in one body by the Cross. 
They are no longer strangers and foreigners, but 
fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household 
of God. Therefore they are one in Christ, by obliga- 
tion, as well as by connexion and dependence. Christ 
over his own house, has a right to enact a law, for the 
well-ordering and governing of those placed under 
him. This law is clearly contained in the Scripture ; 
and vain is every other proof of our belonging to him, 
unless we obey it. And what says he? "Then aref 
ye my disciples, if ye love one another." According 
to this, we must not live to ourselves — Each is to live 
for the good of each, and of all. Even a gratification, 
harmless in itself, is to be avoided, if the peace of a 
weak conscience will thereby be destroyed. Such was 



172 April 27.— Evening. 

the example of Paul. Such was the example of Jesus 
— "Let every one of us please his neighbour for his 
good to edification : for even Christ' pleased not him- 
self; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that 
reproached thee fell on me." 

APEIL 27.— EVENING. 

" The Lord that delivered roe out of the paw of the lion, and out 
of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this 
Philistine." 1 Sam. xvii. 3*7.- 

These are the words of David when he would jus- 
tify himself from presumption in fighting with Goliath 
who was defying the armies of the living God. It is 
observable that he acknowledges the Lord to be his 
deliverer. He delivered me; he will deliver me. 
" Salvation belongeth unto the Lord." To him it be- 
longeth supremely, and in a sense only. For though 
we have many deliverers, they only deliver us instru- 
mentally. The means he employs often conceal his 
agency, but they should lead us to it : for instru- 
mentality implies and requires agency. Adaptation 
is not efficiency. However suited a pen is to write, it 
is nothing without a hand to use it — Hence the ques- 
tion, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but 
ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave 
to every man ?" In a state of nature men are a kind 
of atheists : whatever be their speculative belief, they 
are practically without God in the world ; God is not 
in all their thoughts. In conversion they are awaken- 
ed from this dreadful insensibility and indifference ; 
and are led to inquire after God : and they not only 
seek him, but find him ; and not only find him, but 
hold communion with him ; and hold communion 



April 27. — Evening. 173 

with him, not only in his word, but in his works, not 
only in his ordinances, but in his dispensations. They 
connect him with the events of life, and this gives 
them a sacred importance. They connect him with 
their trials, and this softens them. They connect him 
with their comforts, and this sweetens them. And 
thus life becomes a continued walking with him to- 
words that world in which " God is all in all." 

David reviews his former agency — The Lord deli- 
vered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw 
of the bear. This happened when he kept his father's 
sheep. Each of these fierce and dreadful creatures 
took a lamb out of the flock. And he went after them. 
The peril was most imminent. When he forced them 
to drop the prey, they rose against him; but he caught 
them by the beard" and smote them and slew them. 
He well therefore speaks of their paw, for it was 
actually upon him ! This it will be allowed was a 
deliverance little less than miraculous. We have no- 
thing perhaps so extraordinary to review ; yet we have 
had our deliverances, and some of them remarkable, 
at least to ourselves, if not to others. We have had 
our bears and lions ; but we have not been given over 
a prey to their teeth. We have had spiritual deliver- 
ances. We have been saved from the curse of the 
law ; from the power of Satan ; from the tyranny of 
the world ; from the dominion of sin. We have had 
temporal deliverances. Some of these have been visi- 
ble, but many more have been invisible; and it is 
owing to our having obtained help of God, that our 
lives, and families, and substance, and all our outward 
estate, have been preserved. And if at any time our 
comforts have been invaded and injured, it has been 



174 April 27. — Evening. 

for a moral benefit; and he has enabled us to say, 
"It is good for me that I have been afflicted." 

David hopes for his future agency — " He will de- 
liver me from this Philistine." For after the beasts 
of prey, here is another, and more formidable foe. 
We must always rejoice with trembling; and never 
boast ourselves of to-morrow, for we know not what 
a day may bring forth. Because some storms have 
expended themselves, we mnst not reckon upon per- 
petual sunshine; the clouds return after the rain. 
When we have slain the lion and the bear, Ave may 
be called to encounter Goliath — Well — and we may 
meet him undismayed if the Lord be with us. He 
who has delivered will deliver. And like David — 

We should draw confidence from reflection. We 
have not only his promise to encourage us, but our ex- 
perience ; and because he has been our help, therefore 
under the shadow of his wing should we rejoice. We 
cannot certainly infer what men will be from what 
they have been, or what they will do from what they 
have done. They are variable ; but the Lord chang- 
eth not. They m&y become unable, if their intentions 
are the same ; but in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting 
strength. Neither should a sense of our unworthiness 
weaken our expectation from him : we were unworthy 
when he first took knowledge of us; and he deals 
with us not according to our desert, but his own mercy 
and grace. 

Wherefore let us observe the lovingkindnesses of 
the Lord, and treasure them up in our minds. We 
know not what occasion we may have for the use of 
them. But in every tendency to depression let us not 
yield to our infirmity, but remember the years of the 
right hand of the Most High. 



April 28. — Morning. 175 



APRIL 28.— MORNING. 

"' When Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart 
out of this world unto the Father — " John xiii. 1. 

— "His hoar" means the period of his death. In 
another place it is called the hour of his enemies — 
"This," said he, "is your hour and the power of 
darkness."" It is called their hour, because they 
seemed to have every thing their own way. They 
apprehended him ; and mocked him ; and scourged 
him ; and nailed him to the cross. All their purposes 
and wishes succeeded ; and they considered his cause 
as annihilated. But their triumph was short and 
foolish. What they had done was provided for ; was 
admitted into his plan ; and the very means of ac- 
complishing his design — 

— It was "His hour." He was delivered by the de- 
terminate counsel and foreknowledge of Grod. There 
was nothing casual in his death. The time was ap- 
pointed; and till this arrived the attempts of his ad- 
versaries were vain — " They could not lay hands on 
him, because his hour was not yet come." It was not 
only his hour by appointment, but by importance. 
No such hour had been witnessed since time had com- 
menced. No hour of his own life would bear a com- 
parison with it. It was infinitely unique, wonderful, 
and interesting in its design and effects. Now was 
the judgment of this world. Now was the prince of 
this world cast out. Now was the ceremonial law 
abolished. Now was the moral law magnified and 
made honourable. Now he was to finish transgression. 
Now he was to bring in everlasting righteousness. 
Now he was to open the kingdom of heaven to all 



176 April 28.— Morning. 

believers. Now lie was to get himself a Name above 
every name. 

— He knew that his hour was come. So perfect was 
his foresight of the event, that he knew not only the 
fact itself, but the incidents attending it. He knew 
the whole before there was any appearance of the 
thing : before his enemies had formed the design ; be- 
fore Judas had felt the thought of treason. And thus 
he evinced, not only his wisdom, but his devotedness 
to his work. He saw the hour was at hand, but he 
seeks no hiding-place, nor attempts to escape, though 
he had so many means in his power. It does not af- 
fect this to say, that in another sense he was unable to 
have released himself, because he was bound by cov- 
enant engagement ; and if he saved others, himself he 
could not save. For his engagement Avas made in the 
full prospect of all he was to endure; and, as the 
tremendous suffering approached, so far was He from 
repenting of what he had brought upon himself, that 
he said, i; How am I straitened till it be accomplished !' r 

— But how is His passage through this dreadful 
scene expressed? "That he should depart out of 
this world unto the Father." Here let us think of 
his people as well as of himself. In all things he 
must have the pre-eminence : but they resemble him. 
What is here said of his death, will, in a pleasing 
degree, apply to their own. Their death is not, in- 
deed, like his, mediatorial. Neither know they the 
hour when it will take place. But all their times are 
in Grod's hand. And the circumstances of their death, 
as well as of their life, fall under his arrangement. 
They know they have their hour ; and are immortal 
till it arrives. They know that enemies cannot hasten 
it \ that friends cannot retard it. They know also that 



April 28. — Morning. 177 

it is approaching; that it cannot be far off ; that it 
may be very near — and therefore that it requires a con- 
stant readiness. 

But was his death a " departing out of this world ?" 
So is theirs. He was in it for three-and-thirty years. 
Many of them are in it a shorter, and many a much 
longer period. It was a sad world to him. It knew 
him not, but despised and rejected him. It hated 
him without a cause. It persecuted him from his 
birth, refused him a place where to lay his head, and 
could not be satisfied till it bad shed his blood. And 
they find it a vain and deceitful world ; a vexing and 
injurious world : a vile and wicked world. Every 
thing in it cries, Arise, and depart hence ; for this is 
not your rest, because it is polluted, And are we 
un willing to go ? Yes — 

" Thankless for favours from on high, 
Man thinks he fades too soon ; 
Though 'tis his privilege to die, 
Would he improve the boon. 

" But he, not wise enough to scan 
His best concerns aright, 
Would gladly stretch life's little span 
To ages if he might — 

u To ages in a world of pain- 
To ages, where he goes, 
Gall'd by affliction's heavy chain, 
And hopeless of repose. 

" Strange fondness of the human heart, 
Enamour'd of its harm ! 
Strange world, that costs it so much smart, 
And yet has power to charm !" 

We do not wonder, indeed, that this should be so 
much the case with u men of the world." They have 



178 April 28.— Mokxixg. 

" their portion in this life," and no hope of a better. 
Bad as it is, they know that it is the best world they 
will ever be in ; and that, whatever be its troubles, to 
them they are only the beginnings of sorrows. But it 
is otherwise with Christians. They are here, like 
Israel in Egypt ; and death is their departure for the 
Land of Promise. They are here, like strangers in 
an inhospitable country, and travellers at a cheerless 
inn ; and death is their departing to their delightful 
home. 

Was his death a "going to the Father?" So is 
theirs. That is, going to heaven ; for the Father is 
there: and in his presence there is fulness of joy, and 
at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore. 
He went to the Father, to carry on their cause, and 
to possess his own reward. But he had been there 
before. Hence he said, " I came forth from the 
Father, and am come into the world ; again, I leave 
the world, and go unto the Father." Hence he 
speaks of heaven, without wonder. He had been at 
court. He had resided there ; and had only left it for 
a season. His return, with all the glories that should 
follow, was the joy set before him, for which he en- 
dured the cross. And, as love delights in the wel- 
fare of its object, he expected that his disciples would 
rejoice, when he said, "I go unto the Father; for the 
Father is greater than I." But they were never 
there before : all will be new and surprising to them. 
Yet they, also, will have their work ; and will be still 
praising him. They, also, will drink of the rivers of 
his pleasure. They will have immediate and uninter- 
rupted access to his Father and our Father, to his 
God and our God. And with Him is the fountain 
of life. 



Apkil 28. — Evening. 179 



APKIL 28.— EVENING. 
" So that I might finish my course with joy." Acts sx. 24. 

Does this imply any apprehension as to the event ? 
It is no more than he enjoins upon others: "Let us 
therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering 
into his rest, any of you should seem to come short 
of it." It certainly expresses great desire and great 
anxiousness. He deemed nothing too much to do or 
to suffer for such a privilege. 

But how is it to be understood ? We may take two 
views of it. We may consider the Christian as finish- 
ing his course with joy to others, and with joy to 
himself. The latter is principally intended. But did 
you ever stand by the side of a dying bed, and when 
your connexion was suffering severely, and all hope 
of recovery was taken away, have you not been glad 
when the struggle was over ? Yes. You rose above 
selfishness ; and could say, " Our loss is his gain. 
Shall we weep at his deliverance from sorrow, tempta- 
tion, and sin? and his entering into the joy of his 
Lord? If we loved him we should rejoice, because 
he said, I go unto the Father." 

And when he finished well, have you not hailed 
him on another account? "Well, thy sun is gone 
down without a cloud. I feared for thee, but the 
danger is now over. Thou hast had to go through a 
defiling world, but thou hast kept thy garments clean. 
Thou hast had fears within and fightings without; 
but thy heart has not turned back, neither have thy 
steps declined from his way. We crown thee now. 
Servant of God, well done." 

But when the Christian finishes his course with joy, 



1W April 28. — Evbhing. 

it mainly refers to himself, and regards his dying ex- 
perience. There is a great difference in the departure 
of believers. Some reach heaven, so to speak, in a 
kind of wrecked state ; they get safe to land, but on 
planks and broken pieces of the ship. Others, in full 
sail, enter the desired haven ; and have, as the Apostle 
Peter calls it, " an abundant entrance into the king- 
dom of their Lord and Saviour." Some die perplexed 
with doubts and depressed with fears; others have 
the full assurance of hope i they are joyful in glory, 
and shout aloud upon their beds; and their dying 
chamber is none other than the house of God and the 
gate of heaven. "With gladness and rejoicing shall 
they be brought : they shall enter into the King's 
palace." 

This joy does not depend upon outward things; for 
in common God's poor and afflicted people have the 
greatest degrees of it. Neither is it according to 
previous confidence; for many who have been all 
their lifetime subject to bondage through fear of death, 
have been filled at last with all joy and peace in be- 
lieving. ISTow we lay no stress upon the want of this 
dying confidence and comfort, as an evidence against 
the safety of a man, when his life has been godly and 
consistent ; for we know not how far it may be the 
effect of temperament or disease. Yet it is very de- 
sirable to enjoy it. We shall need all the comfort we 
can get when heart and flesh fail us, and friends can 
afford us no assistance, and the enemy of souls may 
be peculiarly busy, knowing that his time is short. It 
is also very useful. It has often impressed the care- 
less, confirmed the doubting, and encouraged the 
timid. And liow has it glorified God by shewing the 
power of his grace, and recommending his service! 



Apeil 28. — Evening. 181 

Except for this, a Christian would desire a sudden 
death, and escape " the pains, and groans, and dying 
strife :" but he is more than reconciled to bear them, 
if Christ is thus magnified in his body by death, as 
well as by life. 

Bat this finishing his course with joy takes in the 
issue as well as the conclusion. If it ends with heaven, 
it ends well, whatever be the experience immediately 
preceding. If the Christian were to leave this world 
in darkness and uncertainty, that darkness would be 
instantly dispelled, and all would be quietness and 
assurance for ever. Thus even Cowper finished his 
course with joy, for he ended it in joy; the gloom 
vanished in glory — and how ecstatic must have been 
the surprise of his blessed spirit, to feel itself in the 
possession of a boon it had long despaired to find 1 

All who have gone before us at death finished their 
course ; but many finished it with joy. How will you 
finish yours? The Lord has appointed us bounds 
which we cannot pass. We have an allotted course of 
service and suffering; and the end is sure — and the 
end is nigh. Mark the perfect man and behold the 
upright, for the end of that man is peace. He shall 
enter into rest ; and be for ever with the Lord. But 
how will you end ? will you be defeated or crowned ? 
will you be clothed with shame, or shine forth as the 
sun in the kingdom of our Father ? O let it be your 
prayer and care to realize this final blessedness : and 
endeavour to j uclge of every thing now as it will affect 
you at last. 

Even a Balaam could admire the tents of Jacob and 
the tabernacles of Israel ; and was compelled to ex- 
claim, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and 
let my last end be like his." Yet he died fighting 



182 April 28.— -EVexing. 

against the people lie had blessed and envied. Such 
a difference is there between conviction and practice ; 
and so absurd is it to look for the end without the 
way. 

Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. But if 
you die out of him, unpardoned and unrenewed, you 
must finish your course with grief — Grrief to others ; to 
ministers, to Christians, to godly friends and relations. 
■ — Grief to yourselves. The sorrows of life may be 
diverted by company, by amusements, by the hurry 
of business. A man may drink and forget his sorrow, 
and remember his misery no more. But your drink- 
ing days will be then over, and you will be near a 
state where you will call in vain for a drop of water 
to cool your tongue. Your associates will then for- 
sake you, or be found miserable comforters. If they 
are cruel enough to jest about religion then, you will 
not be able to relish it, while fearing that all may be 
true which you have treated as false. Nature will 
have then closed the door against every worldly diver- 
sion. You can no more attend the playhouse and the 
race-ground. All that before was vanity will now be 
vexation of spirit. Eiches profit not in the day of 
wrath. What is a man profited if he should gain the 
whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a 
man give in exchange for his soul? But should you 
have no time for reflection ; or be incapable of exer- 
cising reason ; or conscience be unawakened ; should 
you through the power of delusion have no bands in 
your death, and your strength be firm : should you 
fall asleep like a lamb, you will awake with the devil 
and his angels. There is no peace, saith my God, unto 
the wicked. 



Apkil 29.— Morning. 183 



APRIL 29.— MORNING. 

"And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening 
him." Luke xxii. 43. 

Thus, though, the cup was not taken from him, he 
was heard, in that he feared ; according to the pro- 
mise : "I have heard thee in a time accepted ; and 
in the day of salvation have I succoured thee." We 
may be heard, when we are not delivered. We may 
be succoured in distress, when we are not saved from 
it. And if the burden be not diminished, yet, if our 
ability to endure it be increased, the effect is the same. 
Paul was a proof of this. When he besought the 
Lord thrice, that the thorn in the flesh might depart 
from him, the Saviour said, My grace is sufficient for 
thee ; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 
And says David, In the day that I cried, Thou an- 
sweredst me ; and strengthenedst me with strength in 
my soul. 

— Here we see the humiliation of the Saviour. He 
who was rich, for our sakes became poor. He was in 
the form of God, but took upon him the form of a 
servant. He was Lord of all, but had not where to 
lay his head; and was relieved by the creatures of 
his power : " Certain women, which had been healed 
of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, 
out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife 
of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many 
others, ministered unto him of their substance." He 
was the Lord of angels ; but he was made a little lower 
than they — yea, he received assistance from them. 
"There appeared unto him an angel from heaven, 
strengthening him." 

— What a contrast is here ! His Apostles, who had 



184 Apeil 29.— MoExixa. 

been so much, honoured by him, forsook him. Even 
Peter, James, and John, who had been admitted to the 
Transfiguration, and now were selected to be with 
him in the garden, slumbered and slept. And though, 
when he came to them, and found them in this condi- 
tion, he pitied them, and said, The spirit indeed is 
willing, but the flesh is weak; yet he felt it — deeply 
felt it ; and said, " What ! could ye not watch with me 
one hour?" — But if earth disowns him, heaven does 
not. If men abandon him, angels cry, with a loud 
voice, Worthy is the Lamb ! — " He was seen of angels." 
One of them announced his approaching conception ; 
another proclaimed his birth; a multitude of them 
carolled his advent. In his temptation in the wilder- 
ness, " behold, angels came and ministered unto him." 
An angel rolled away the stone from the door of the 
sepulchre, and said to the women, "Fear not ye: for 
I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He 
is not here." " Come, see the place where the Lord 
lay." And here an angel appeared unto him from 
heaven, strengthening him. 

He could have asked the Father, and he would have 
given him twelve legions of angels, and rescued him 
— what are we saying? One of these would have been 
sufficient — the least of them could have looked all his 
adversaries into nothing— But how then could the 
Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? And 
how could he have put away sin by the sacrifice of 
himself? Or how could he have sympathised with 
us, if he had never suffered? The angel, therefore, 
only strengthened him. Reminding him of the joy that 
was set before him : telling him of the result of his 
passion— the effect of it in the glory of God, and the 
salvation of the world : spreading before him the pro- 



April 29. — Morning. 185 

mises — perhaps reading to him the prophecy of Isaiah : 
" When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, 
he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and 
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He 
shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satis- 
fied" — Kaising him up from the cold ground; support- 
ing his fainting head ; wiping away the bloody sweat 
from his dear face — so that he appeared fresh, and fair, 
and glorious, in his visage : and made those who came 
to apprehend him go backward, and fall to the earth, 
when he only presented himself, and said, "I am he." 
In all things he has the pre-eminence ; and how 
willing are his people to acknowledge it I But while 
he is the first-born among many brethren, all of them 
are predestinated to be conformed to him. Angels, 
therefore, who attended him, attended them also. "Are 
they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister 
unto them that are the heirs of salvation?" Their 
attendance is no less real than formerly, though it is 
no longer visible ; according to the principle of the 
economy under which we live, and which is, to walk 
by faith, and not by sight. They delight to do the 
will of their Lord and ours. These blessed beings 
have no envy, no pride. They are enemies to his 
enemies; but they are friends to his friends. They 
rejoice when a sinner repenteth; and carry the dying 
saint into Abraham's bosom. 



186 April 29.— Evening. 

april 29.— evexixg. 

"Who comforteth us in all our tribulation." 2 Cob. i. 4. 

This reminds us of the nature of the Christian life. 
It is "neither clear nor dark." It partakes both of 
tribulation and comfort. The tribulation endears the 
comfort ; and the comfort relieves and gilds the tribu- 
lation. 

Paul does not say He comforts us by keeping us 
out of all tribulation. He could do this ; but it ac- 
cords not with the wisdom of his mercy. Therefore 
many are the afflictions of the righteous, and through 
much tribulation they must enter the kingdom. But 
lohile in the world they have tribulation, in him they 
have peace — and he comforts them in all their tri- 
bulation. And he does this four ways. 

First, by deliverance. This is perhaps the most 
pleasing way to our natural feelings : and these feel- 
ings are in a measure allowable. For tribulation is 
not to be preferred for its own sake : neither are we 
to consider ourselves unsubmissive, though we are led 
to say, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass 
from me;" provided we can add, "nevertheless, not 
my will, but thine be done." And the Lord knoweth 
how to deliver. If he does not find a way, he can 
make a way for our escape. Of old he appeared for 
his servants ; and often constrained even their enemies 
to acknowledge the finger of God. Observe Joseph 
in Egypt, Jonah in the whale's belly, Daniel in the 
lions' den, and Peter in prison. "But these were 
miracles." They were. "And miracles are not to be 
expected now." They are not. But he who per- 
formed them is not far from any one of us — He is a 



April 29. — Evening. 187 

very present help in trouble — and able to make good 
the word upon which he has caused us to hope ; or 
miracles would be seen again. Nothing is too hard 
for the Lord; all hearts are in his hand; all events 
are at his control; and even now "he tarneth the 
shadow of death into the morning." He does not al- 
ways deliver us according to our wishes and expec- 
tation ; and hope deferred maketh the heart sick ; and 
the eagerness and despondency of impatience may lead 
us to complain, "O when wilt thou comfort me?" 
But the vision is only for an appointed time; at the 
end it shall speak ; neither will it tarry a moment be- 
}^ond the season our welfare requires — "For the Lord 
is a God of judgment; blessed are all they that wait 
for him." 

Secondly, by compensation. Philosophers have re- 
marked how all through the natural world there are 
indications of a system of counter-balancings ; so that 
a deficiency in one thing is remedied by some advan- 
tage in another. We see this also in human life ; so 
that persons in their trouble are, so to say, recom- 
pensed by something which lessens the impression of 
their trials, and after which if they are wise they will 
look, for the purpose of submission and thankfulness. 
Hannah was barren and reproached by her fruitful 
rival ; but she was consoled by the greater love of her 
husband, and who " was better to her than ten sons." 
Mephibosheth while an infant was lamed on both his 
feet ; but owing to this accident his life was preserved 
when the other princes of the house were destroyed. 
Thus bodily deformity is sometimes relieved by su- 
perior endowments of mind. Thus a man is compelled 
to labour : but this gives soundness to his sleep, and 
appetite to his food, and vigour to his health, to which 



188 April 29.— Evening. 

the easy and indulged are strangers. Paul suffered 
unto bonds; but the word of Grod, widen was dearer 
to him than life, was not bound: and his confinement 
turned out rather to the furtherance of the GrospeL 
The thorn in the flesh w r as continued ; but instead of 
the removal he had the assurance of all-sufficient grace 
under it; and he was more than satisfied with the 
compensation — yea, he gloried in it; and said "When 

I am weak then am I strong." Ah! I dreaded, says 
the Christian, as I entered the affliction, and was laid 
on a bed of languishing : but prayer was made for me, 
a force and a tenderness of friendship were displayed 
of which I was not aware before — and Oh ! how kind 
was that "Friend who sticketh closer than a brother S" — 

II Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee ; 
thou saidst unto me, fear not." 

Thirdly, by sanctincation. A man may be saved in 
his affliction when he is not saved out of it. Affliction 
is a scene of great moral danger, and the enemy of 
souls will endeavour to turn to account what it yields 
in a way of temptation. It is mentioned with, wonder 
that in all the evil that had come upon him, "Job 
sinned not, nor charged Grod foolishly." A Christian 
is sometimes "afraid of all his sorrows" — afraid lest 
he should sink — afraid lest he should sin in the day of 
adversity — afraid lest he should not suffer well, and 
glorify the Lord in the fires ; but dishonour his reli- 
gion by unbelief, and discontent, and murmuring. 
This leads him to pray ; and the Lord hears him, and 
keeps him in the evil day. He affords him also the 
supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, which confirms 
his faith, and strengthens his patience, and enables 
him to bear the rod. Some in their distresses have 
cursed God and died. Others have spoken unacl- 



April 29. — Evening. 189 

visedly with their lips ; or they have been vengeful 
towards the instruments of their sufferings, or the}' 
have employed unlawful means to obtain relief, or they 
have attempted self-destruction. Have you been pre- 
served ? Has the furnace only severed the dross from 
the gold ? Has the pruning-knife only lopped off the 
suckers that robbed the vine? Can you say with 
David, " It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; 
before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I 
kept thy word"— Has the Lord forgotten to be gra- 
cious to you ? 

Fourthly, he does it by discovery. " The word of 
the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while 
he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying ; 
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee 
great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." 
This is no more than he does to other sufferers ; it is 
in the hour of trouble he peculiarly fulfils the pro- 
mise, "I will manifest myself unto him." "I will 
allure her," says he, " and bring her into the wilder- 
ness, and there will I speak comfortably unto her" — so 
speak to her as to " give her her vineyards from thence, 
and the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she 
shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and in the 
days when she came up out of the land of Egypt." 
Oh ! if he says to the soul, "lam thy salvation ;" if 
he " shews you his covenant ;" if he convinces you 
that none of your trials are casual or penal ; if he as- 
sures your consciences that you are redeemed from the 
curse, and that you only feel the rod of a father, who 
uses it in kindness and tender mercy ; if heaven be 
opened to the eve of the mind, and like Stephen you 
see Jesus ready to receive you, and wipe away all your 
tears ; if you are assured that your afflictions will work 



190 April 30. — Morning. 

out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory — then, though you will not be deprived of 
feeling, you will be raised above despondency and de- 
pression — Then, though troubled on every side, you 
will not be distressed — Then, though sorrowful, you 
will be always rejoicing — and not only so, but you 
" will glory in tribulation also." 



APRIL 30.— MORNING. 

"But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth 
before you into Galilee : there shall ye see him, as he said unto you." 
m Mark xvi. 7. 

These are the words of the angel who had descended 
"from heaven to attend his rising Lord. They were 
addressed to Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother 
of James, and Salome. These women had honoured 
the Saviour, and he honoured them. They were the 
first to receive the announcement of his resurrection, 
and the first to report it. 

But observe, — they were to carry the news, not to 
the Chief Priests and Pharisees ; not to Pilate ; not 
to Herod. It was just to leave these men in the dark- 
ness they loved. They rebelled against the light ; and 
no evidence would have convinced those who had 
already seen his miracles, and believed not. But his 
disciples, though timid, and weak, and imperfect, were 
sincere. They had forsaken all to follow him. Their 
very doubting arose from the greatness of their love ; 
and sorrow had now filled their hearts. They would, 
therefore, welcome the intelligence, and be influenced 
by it, as his followers and witnesses. 

— But why is Peter distinctively mentioned? Be- 



Apkil 30. — Mokninq. 191 

cause lie was the chief of the Apostles ? So far from 
it, the distinction reminds us of his humiliation. He 
had fallen by his iniquity; and, after the most solemn 
warnings and professions, he had denied his Master, 
with oaths and curses. But the look in the judgment- 
hall had broken his heart, and made him go out, and 
weep bitterly. He was now on the verge of despair, 
and ready to say — perhaps was even now saying — Ah, 
he will disown me — and righteously disown me — for 
ever ! The angel's naming him, therefore, on this oc- 
casion, was as much as to say, " The Saviour has not 
cast thee off; he has not forgotten to be gracious. He 
does not break a bruised reed, nor quench the smoking 
flax, but will send forth judgment unto victory." It 
also conveyed an intimation to his brethren, that they 
were to follow his example, and endeavour to restore 
such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering 
themselves lest they also were tempted. 

— The message, more than announcing his resur- 
rection, added, that he would go before them into 
Galilee. In vain we ask, how he passed thither. He 
had the power to appear, and disappear ; and to trans- 
port himself from place to place, as he pleased, in a 
moment of time. But what led him down so many 
miles from Jerusalem ? Was it to intimate his for- 
saking that guilty city ? Woe unto you when I depart 
from you ! — Or was it to call them off from the strife 
and cruelties of their enemies ? It was comparatively 
a place of security and concealment. Or was it, that 
their journeying down separately, or with each other, 
might bring them to recollection, and recover them 
from their late cowardice and unbelief? Was it to tell 
them to withdraw, in order to be in the way of inter- 
course with him ? It was a despised place — would he 



192 April 30. — Morning. 

teach them to rise above local and vulgar prejudices; 
and to call nothing common or unclean ? It is certain 
that he had been much in Galilee himself ; and had 
many followers there. And this accounts for the 
largeness of the assembly; for the Apostles would 
naturally inform his friends there of this expected 
interview. Hence he was now seen of above five hun- 
dred brethren at once; many of whom were living 
when Paul wrote to the Corinthians, though some had 
fallen asleep. 

— His promise that they should see him there, 
would prove a test of their faith and affection. If 
they valued the sight of him, and believed his word, 
they would certainly repair thither. Accordingly 
they did repair thither ; and there was He ! — Let us 
apply this to ourselves. There are means and ordi- 
nances which he has established. In these he has 
engaged to be found of those that seek him. If we 
rely on his truth, and desire communion with him, we 
shall gladly avail ourselves of them. And shall we — 
can we be disappointed — if we do ? Has he ever said 
to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me, in vain? He has 
often been better than his word ; but who ever found 
him worse? Let us go, therefore, to his Throne, and 
to his House, with full and lively expectation — In all 
places where I record my Name, I will come unto 
thee, and I will bless thee ; for where two or three 
are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the 
midst of them. There shall we see him, as he has said 
unto us. 

— He is also gone before us into heaven. Let us 
arise, and depart hence, and seek him there — There 
shall we see him in all his glory, according to his 



Apkil 30.— Evening. 193 

promise — Where I am, there shall also my servants be. 
Oh 1 to join him there ! To be for ever with the Lord ! 

" glorious hour ! bless'd abode ! 
I shall be near, and like my God : 
And flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasures of my soul." 



APRIL 30.— EVENING. 

" The desire of all nations." Haggai ii. 1. 

That this refers to the Messiah is unquestionable. 
Yet there seems some necessity for explaining the 
title, as it apparently disagrees with the language of 
other parts of Scripture, and with fact. Is he not 
despised and rejected of men? He was in the world, 
and the world was made by him ; and the world knew 
him not. He came unto his own, and his own re- 
ceived him not. How then can he be called the desire 
of all nations ? The character is j ustified five ways. 

First, by the general expectation that prevailed in 
the world previously to his advent. It is well known 
that there was such a looking out for some great de- 
liverer and benefactor as nigh at hand. Divines have 
collected many testimonies from heathen authors, and 
have peculiarly remarked a little poem of Virgil's, 
written a few years only before the birth of Jesus, and 
which contains a kind of prophecy, foreshowing that 
some extraordinary personage would shortly come, 
and restore the peace and plenty and blessings of the 
fancied golden reign. The sentiment had been con- 
veyed down by tradition, but it was originally derived 
from a Divine source, the early and repeated promise 
of " him that should come." 

9 



194 April 30. — Evening. 

Secondly, by the need all mankind had of such a 
Saviour as he was to be. The whole world was lying 
in wickedness. Darkness covered the earth. They 
knew not the supreme good. They found only vanity 
and vexation of spirit in their pursuits and attain- 
ments. They had no support under the troubles of 
life. Their uneasiness arising from guilt, death, and 
futurity, made them often willing not only to offer 
thousands of rams, and rivers of oil, but to give their 
first-born for their transgression, the fruit of their body 
for the sin of their soul. But no remedy could they 
find to remove the doubts and fears of their con- 
sciences — The Lord Jesus meets the condition they 
were in ; and therefore, though they had no revelation 
of him, yet they were groping ignorantly after what 
alone he could impart; and therefore he deserves to 
be called the desire of all nations, just as a physician, 
able and willing to cure all diseases, is the desire of ail 
patients. 

Thirdly, by being entirely attractive in himself, so 
that all would actually long after him if they knew 
him. He has every excellency in his person, every 
perfection in his character. There is nothing in crea- 
tion that will afford a proper image of his glory. All 
the loveliness of men and angels shrink from a com- 
parison with his charms — " How great is his beauty!" 
— "Yea, he is altogether lovely." Do we esteem 
riches ? His riches are unsearchable. Do we admire 
friendship ? He is a friend that sticketh closer than 
a brother. Do Ave applaud bene\ r olence ? His love 
passeth knowledge. He comes down like rain on the 
mown grass, as showers that water the earth. A 
bruised reed will he not break, and smoking flax will 



April 30. — Evening. 195 

he not quench. He delivers the needy when he crieth, 
the poor also and him that hath no helper — 

" His worth if all the nations knew, 
Sure the whole earth would love him too." 

Fourthly, by his having had admirers in every 
country. Wherever believers have been found, they 
have been all distinguished by the same convictions 
and dispositions with regard to him. Abraham in 
Canaan rejoiced to see his day, saw it and was glad. 
Job in the land of Uz said, I know that my Redeemer 
liveth. Moses in Egypt esteemed his reproach. Wise 
men came from Persia and paid him homage. Devout 
men from every nation under heaven came to the 
temple at Jerusalem, and joined in the ceremonies and 
sacrifices of which he was the substance and the end. 
And John heard his praise from a multitude which no 
man could number, out of all nations, and kindreds, 
and people, and tongues. For, 

Lastly, he is so named, because in due time he will 
be prized and glorified in by all the ends of the earth. 
To him, said the dying Patriarch, shall the gathering 
of the people be. He is the salvation, says Simeon, 
prepared before the face of all people ; a light to lighten 
the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel. All 
kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall 
serve him : all nations shall call him blessed. 

Bat let me not lose myself in general reflections. 
How does this desire of all nations appear to me? 
Has he been revealed in me the hope of glory ? Is 
he all my salvation and all my desire? Can I count 
all things but loss for the excellency of the know- 
ledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ? Do I love the people 



196 May 1. — Morning. 

who resemble him ? Do I value the ordinances in which 
I can enjoy communion with him? Will it complete 
my happiness to be like him and see him as he is ? 



MAY 1.— MORNING 

"And I will give her her vineyards from thence." 

Hosea ii. 15. 

— Observe the Author of these favours — /will do 
it, says God. Every good gift and every perfect gift 
is from him. And his people will readily acknowledge 
that all they enjoy is not only from his agency, but 
his grace. 

— Observe also the richness of the supplies — I will 
give her — not her corn — corn is for necessity, but 
grapes — grapes are for delight. Yea, it is not a vine 
— but a vineyard — yea, vineyards ! He engages to 
give, as if he could not do too much for them ; being 
concerned — not only for their safety, but for their wel- 
fare — not only for their relief, but their enjoyment — 
and not only for their tasting his consolation, but their 
being filled with all joy and peace in believing. 

— Observe also the strangeness of the way in which 
these indulgences are to be communicated. For 
whence are these supplies to come? From a wilder- 
ness. "I will allure her, and bring her into the 
wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her: and I 
will give her her vineyards from thence." What 
could be looked for in a wilderness but loneliness, 
and mazes, and danger, and beasts of prey, and 
reptiles, and sand, and briers, and thorns — Who 
would expect to find the vineyards of Engedi there ? 
" He only doeth wonclerous thiDgs ; he is God alone." 



May 1. — Morning. 197 

He turneth the shadow of death into the morning. 
He makes rivers in high places, and streams in the 
desert. He makes the wilderness to rejoice and blos- 
som as the rose — and gives us vineyards from thence. 

The region through which his people passed in their 
way from Egypt to Canaan was a wilderness. Here 
read the words of Jeremiah: "Who led us through 
the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, 
and of the shadow of death, through a land which no 
man passed through, and where no man dwelt." Moses 
also calls it, That terrible wilderness, wherein were 
fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought; where 
there was no water. But he gave them their vine- 
yards from thence. Though the place yielded them 
nothing, they were well supplied from above. Though 
they had no rivers or springs, he smote the rock, and 
the waters gushed out, and followed them in all their 
journeyings. Though they had no food, the clouds 
poured down manna, and they did eat angels' food. 
Though they had no road, they had a guide to lead 
them the right way, in a pillar of cloud and of fire, 
which shaded them by day and comforted them at 
night. The tabernacle of God was in the midst of 
them. From the mercy-seat he communed with them. 
He sent them Moses and Aaron, and Miriam. He 
gave his good Spirit to instruct them. They had 
grapes from Eshcol. They had a view of the glory 
of all lands ; and at length the possession^ it — where 
the}' sang — "To >him that led his people through the 
Wilderness; for his mercy endureth for ever!" 

— Earth is a wilderness. And he gives them their 
vineyards from thence. It was not designed to be a 
wilderness. But, by one man, sin entered into the 
world; and it was said unto the transgressor, "Cursed 



198 May 1. — Morning. 

is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat 
of it all the days of thy life ; thorns also and thistles 
shall it bring forth to thee" — and there are enough of 
these. Such it is as the Fall left it. Such it now 
would be, but for Divine grace. How discontented 
and miserable are the men of the world, who have 
nothing else ! especially in their afflictions — and man 
is born to trouble. But to the Christian the curse is 
turned into a blessing. He has not only before him a 
land of promise, but even now— even here, he has a 
thousand alleviations, and succours, and even delights. 
And if earth be a wilderness — when they attend divine 
ordinances; and hear the joyful sound; and embrace 
the promises ; and rejoice in hope of the glory of God; 
and walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost — they 
have their vineyards from thence. 

Solitude is a wilderness. And he gives them their 
vineyards from thence. There is not only much to be 
done alone, but gained alone, and enjoyed alone. 
There we gain much of our best knowledge, and our 
richest experience. There we enjoy the freedom of 
prayer, and the most unreserved intercourse with 
God. There his secret is with them that fear him ; 
and he shews them his covenant. They are never less 
alone than when alone. " Go forth into the plain, 
and I will there talk with thee." David said, "My 
soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and 
my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips, when I 
remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee 
in the night watches." Nathaniel, under the fig-tree, 
found something more refreshing than the shade of 
its leaf; more delicious than the taste of its fruit. 

Outward trouble is a wilderness. Many have been 
afraid to be brought into it — yet He has given them 



May 1.— Morning. 199 

their vineyards from thence, and the Valley of Achor 
for a door of hope. They have been saved by their 
undoing; and enriched by their losses. Manasseh, 
in his affliction, sought and found the God of his 
father. And David, though he was converted before, 
could say, It is good for me that I have been afflicted. 
What proofs have all his people had that he was with 
them in trouble ! What discoveries ! what supports ! 
what tendernesses of comfort have they had there ! 
As the sufferings of Christ have abounded in them, 
the consolation hath also abounded by Christ. 

— The state of mind produced by conviction of sin 
is a wilderness. A wounded spirit who can bear ? 
Who does not remember the surprise, the confusion 
of mind, the terror, the anguish, the self-despair, he 
once felt— and who can forget the feelings induced by 
a discovery of the Cross, and the joy of God's salva- 
tion ! Many are afraid when they see their relations 
and friends trembling at God's word, and broken in 
heart at his feet — But Christians hail it as a token 
for good. They know that he gave them their vine- 
yards from thence. 

The same may be said of that soul-abasement and 
distress the believer himself may feel from increasing 
views of his unworthiness, depravity, and guilt. And 
this may be the case after he has been for years in the 
way everlasting, and hoping better things of himself. 
The experience is truly lamentable : but will the hu- 
miliation hurt him ? He giveth grace unto the hum- 
ble. The rain falls upon the mountain-tops, as well 
as in the valley : but the valleys are fertilized ; they 
are also covered over with corn ; they shout for joy ; 
they also sing. 

—The valley of the shadow of death is the last wil- 



200 May 1.— Evening. 

clerness. There is much to render it uninviting and 
awful ; and yet, when it has been actually entered, 
the apprehension and the gloom have fled. This has 
"been the case generally, even with those who were 
most subject to bondage by the fear of it. The place 
has been made glad for them. They have had not 
only a peaceful, but a delightful, entrance into the joy 
of their Lord. And what vineyards does he give 
them from thence ! I 



MAY 1.— EVENING. 

" Judas saith unto him (not Iscariot), Lord, how is it that thou wilt 
manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world ?" John xiy. 22. 

Judas Iscariot had already sold his Master, and 
was now busy in betraying him into the hands of his 
enemies. "We are sometimes ready to wonder by 
what potency of diabolical agency he could be carried 
to such a degree of wickedness. But when we are 
informed that he was covetous, the mystery is ex- 
plained. Then we have a cause fully adequate to any 
effect : "for the love of money is the root of all evil." 

But there was another Judas among the Apostles. 
He was the brother of James ; the author of the last 
inspired epistle of the New Testament ; and a faith- 
ful follower of Jesus — he was the present inquirer. 
"We may be good and happy under any name. Yet 
there are names that seem ominous and odious. It 
must have been painful for this excellent man to be 
called by the name of the infamous wretch who had 
sold his Lord for thirty pieces of silver. John there- 
fore distinguishes him. We should learn from his 
example to be careful, in relating facts, not to con- 



May 1. — Evening. 201 

found persons. For want of an attention to this, what 
is only true of one individual is applied to another ; 
and not only mistake, but mischief frequently ensues. 
You can never talk safely after some people : they 
are sure to suppress, or omit, or perplex. How little is 
circumstantial truth attended to ! 

It is not always easy to determine the principle of 
an action. We commonly look for a single cause 
when perhaps several excitements have operated, 
though not equally. A late popular senator often 
said, no man ever acted from a single motive. 
Whence sprang the question of Judas ? 

Was it the language of grateful surprise? "How 
is it that we should be selected ? and thus honoured 
and indulged ?" This is the disposition of the sub- 
jects of Divine grace. They do not think more 
highly of themselves, because they are made to differ 
from others. Not unto us, O Lord; not unto us. 
Who am I, Lord God, and what is my father's 
house ? 

Or was it the language of doubt? He seems to 
question whether the Lord could come and manifest 
himself to them without others seeing and knowing 
it. If he really thought so, it was very weak and 
foolish ; but he spake in haste, and without reflection. 
He might easily have known the possibility, in a thou- 
sand cases, of communicating ourselves to a friend 
while every one else remained ignorant of the trans- 
action. And if others could not do it, was it becom- 
ing in Judas to measure the Saviour by their capa- 
city ? What is marvellous in their eyes is not mar- 
vellous in his. It was enough that he had said it. 
He never promises what he is not able to perform — 
9* 



202 May 1.— Evening. 

And never should we ask, after any of his declara- 
tions, " How can these things be ?" 

Or was it the language of curiosity ? He might 
have admitted the reality of the thing, but wished to 
know the circumstances, and the mode of the mani- 
festation. There is too much of this tendency of 
mind in all of us, so that we leave what is plain and 
useful, to pry into what is dark and unprofitable ; and 
wish to explore the secret things which belong unto 
Grod, instead of being satisfied with those which are 
revealed, and which are for us and for our children. 
Thus time is wasted, the attention is drawn off from 
the main concern, the temper is injured by dispute, 
and the words of the Apostle verified, "Knowledge 
puffeth up, but charity edifieth." Jesns therefore 
would not gratify the inquirer after the number of the 
saved : and when Peter asked him after the destiny 
of John, he reproved him, saying, " What is that to 
thee? follow thou me :" and when his Apostles would 
dive into prophecy, he said, "It is not for you to 
know the times and the seasons which the Father 
hath put into his own power." 

But let us always take things in their most chari- 
table construction. Perhaps it was the language of 
allowable desire. He felt the condescension and kind- 
ness of Jesus : he considered the privilege as an ines- 
timable favour : but having little acquaintance with 
it, he wished to know more of it, to regulate himself 
accordingly, so as not to lose, but secure and improve 
the privilege. This is the more probable, as our 
Saviour does not blame him, but gives him an answer. 
This lie would not have done had Judas spoken super- 
ciliously or impertinently ; and not in the spirit of a 



May 2.— Morning. 203 

learner. He did not answer Pilate; nor indulge 
Herod ; nor suffer those to remain in the room who 
laughed him to scorn when he raised the ruler's 
daughter. But he favours and satisfies Judas : 
"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love 
me, he will keep my words : and my Father will love 
him, and we will come unto him, and make our 
abode with him " 

Hence while we oppose a doubtful, curious, and 
speculative turn of mind, we should not repulse hum- 
ble and useful inquiries. There are difficulties of an 
experimental and a practical nature with regard to duties 
and privileges which it is possible and desirable to re- 
move. And there is no one to whom we can carry 
them so proper as He to whom this inquirer addressed 
himself — and not in vain. 



MAY 2.— MORNING, 

"A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David." 

Ps. xxx. 

This he built for himself, as soon as he was esta- 
blished king over Judah and Israel. It was, doubt- 
less, very different from the cottage he occupied when 
a shepherd. But there was no impropriety in this 
change. A man may alter his mode of living, with 
his rising condition in the world. The gradations of 
life are not discountenanced in the Scriptures; and we 
have never seen any advantage arising from the neglect 
of them. Good men ought to avoid extravagance ; 
but by being mean or parsimonious, they may cause 
their good to be evil spoken of 



204 May 2.— Morning. 

David as a king, was obliged to do many things 
from a regard to his station, rather than from personal 
choice. Yet godliness is to shew itself in all circum- 
stances. Therefore, when he took possession of his 
dwelling-house, he consecrated it to God. At enter- 
ing a new house, an entertainment is often given, and 
dissipation and excess follow. Many are invited; 
but God is not of the number : yea, they say unto 
God, Depart from us ; we desire not the knowledge 
of thy ways. But every thing is to be sanctified by 
the word of God and prayer. Our religion is to be 
exemplified in little and common things. We are to 
sanctify the week, as well as to remember the Sab- 
bath ; and to walk with a perfect heart in our own 
dwellings, as well as to worship in the temple of God. 
All we have is the Lord's ; and nothing is a blessing 
till he blesses it. 

And we know not what may befall us in our new 
abode. Here our children may be about us ; or here 
we may weep, because they are not. Here we may 
find a house of mourning, for the desire of our eyes, 
or the guide of our youth. Here we may enjoy health, 
or be made to possess months of vanity, and have 
wearisome nights appointed unto us. Here we may 
live many years, or our sun may go down at noon — 
Let it then be our concern that the place may be the 
house of God wh f ile we live, and the gate of heaven 
when we die. 

David was a poet ; and was accustomed to indulge 
his pious genius on any particular occurrence. Here 
are the lines* he composed on the present occasion — ? 
'.' I will extol thee, Lord ; for thou hast lifted me up, 
and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. Lord 
my Grod, I cried unto thee ? and thou hast healed me. 



May 2. — Morning. 205 

Lord, thou h ist "brought up my soul from the grave: 
thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down 
to the pit. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, 
and give thanks to the remembrance of his holiness. 
For his anger endureth but a moment ; in his favour 
is life : weeping may endure for a night, but joy Com- 
eth in the morning." 

All we notice here is, that, previously to his occupy- 
ing this fine mansion, he had been suffering under a 
daligerous disease. Kings are as mortal as their sub- 
jects, and exposed, to the same evils of life. And 
what would a house of cedar be to one who carried 
into it a body full of pain ? But God had recovered 
him speedily; and, while renewed health enabled him 
to enjoy the blessings of Providence, Divine Grace 
taught him to value life as a privilege for religious 
purposes ; prolonging his opportunities to glorify 
God, and serve his generation according to His will. 

Nothing is more interesting than little casual in- 
sights into the history, and, above all, the experience 
of good and great men. And in this ode we see the 
workings of David's mind — before, and — under, and 
— after the affliction. 

— Before the affliction: "And in my prosperity I 
said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favour 
thou hast made my mountain to stand strong" — He 
had not said this in words ; but his views, and feel- 
ings, and actions, were all vocal with God. And do 
we not here see the danger of indulgence ? How little 
can we bear without self security, without presumption, 
without losing the heart of a stranger! Hence the 
necessity of changes, and the advantage of those trials 
that cry to our hearts, "Arise, and depart hence, for 
this is not your rest. ? ' 



206 May 2.— Morning. 

— Under the affliction: " Thou didst hide thy face, 
and I was troubled. I cried to thee, Lord; and 
unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is 
there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall 
the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? 
Hear, Lord, and have mercy upon me : Lord, be 
thou my helper." Cain, in his distress, goes to build- 
ing. Saul sends for music. Few turn to him that 
smiteth them. But prayer is the design, the sanctifi- 
cation, the resource, of affliction — Is any afflicted? let 
him pray. 

— After the affliction : " Thou hast turned for me my 
mourning into dancing : thou hast put off my sack- 
cloth, and girded me with gladness ; to the end that 
my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. 

Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." 
He has done it. 

" His hand has loos'd my bonds of pain, 
And bound me with his love." 

Therefore I will serve him with my best powers, and 
for ever — 

And his practice corresponded with his profession.. 
Xo sooner had he taken possession of his new palace 
than " the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, 

1 dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God 
dwelleth within curtains." And then it was that he 
availed himself of a pious and ardent frame of mind, 
to swear unto the Lord, and vow unto the mighty Grod 
of Jacob. " Surely I will not come into the taberna- 
cle of my house, nor go up into my bed ; I will not 
give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, 
until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation 
for the mighty God of Jacob." How different the dis-> 



May 2.— Evening. 207 

position of the selfish Jews on their return from Baby- 
lon ! " Is it time for 3^011, ye, to dwell in your 
ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?" And what 
gained they? Them that honour me, says Grod, I 
will honour. " Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came 
to little ; and when ye brought it home, I did blow 
upon it. Why ? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of 
mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto 
his own house." 

MAY 2.— EVENING. 
"Ye were a curse." Zecil viii. 13. 

"When Elihu asked Job, with regard to the Supreme 
Being, "If thou sinnest, what dost thou against him ?" 
he adds; " Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou 
art." The injury one man is capable of doing to 
another is incalculable ; and it will never be known 
in this world what a curse the sinner has been. The 
corrupt always become, as Isaiah calls them, " children 
that are corrupters." They are concerned to bring 
others into the same course and condition with them- 
selves ; and as, owing to the depravity of our nature, 
we are much more accessible to evil than to good, 
they are rarely successless in their endeavours. In 
addition to their invitations and enticings, and, if they 
have power, their frowns and menaces ; how impress- 
ive is the force of example ! and how does the pre- 
sence of vice familiarize it to the mind, and weaken 
the restraints of fear and shame ! " One sinner de- 
stroyeth much good." 

It seems bard that the wife and children of Achan 
should have been stoned and burnt with himself. 
And nothing could have been more affecting than 



208 May 2.— Evening. 

the sight and cries of these victims of his guilt, 
especially if he had any feeling, to the man himself. 
And the Deist here rages against the Bible. But the 
Bible only records the fact ; and the Deist is perpetu- 
ally meeting with similar things in his own book of 
nature. He sees what his boasted Omnipotent Good- 
ness does not interfere to prevent, — one suffering from 
the vileness of another. He seea the wife and chil- 
dren reduced to want, beggary, infamy, disease, death ; 
by an idle, drunken, stealing, licentious husband and 
father. 

This should be one of the greatest preventioos of 
sin, that it always injures, not only ourselves, but 
others ; and it would be so, if we had any ingenuous, 
noble, relative feeling. But what filial affection has 
that youth who can break a mother's heart, and bring 
down the grey hairs of a father with sorrow to the 
grave? Whatever be his politics, what real patriot- 
ism has he who endeavours to arm Providence against 
his country, and promotes " that sin which is a reproach 
to any people?" "I cannot exercise a better .charity 
towards others," says Adam of Wintringham, "than 
by avoiding all sin myself." 

As the wicked are "a curse" by injuriousness, so 
they are also by execration. How many suddenly 
curse their habitation ! How are they cursed often 
by those who are ruined by their pride, luxury, and 
speculations ! How will children when they meet 
their ungodly parents rise up against them in the 
judgment, and cause them to be put to death! How 
in the world of torment will the seduced execrate the 
seducer! the mr.rderecl the murderer! and the pupil 
^f infidelity the wretch that led him into the paths of 
the destroyer! How dreadfully did the writer of 



May 3. — Morning. 209 

this article once hear a fine young man, while dying, 
exclaim, again and again, "0 curse you, Voltaire 1" 
— Angels curse them: "Curse ye Meroz, said the 
angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants 
thereof" — The Judge of all will curse them — He 
"will say unto them on his left hand, Depart, ye 
cursed" — 

And, Christians, were you" ever in danger of this ? 
Were you ever once a curse yourselves. How 
humbling is the review! "What godly sorrow does 
it call for ! It seems enough to make you weep, if 
possible, tears of blood, to think that there are some 
in hell, and others going thither whom you have led 
astray and encouraged! Surely you can never for- 
give yourselves ! But if God has forgiven you, you 
ought to love much ; and be concerned, that as you 
have been a curse, to become a blessing. 



MAY 3.— MORNING. 
" Ye shall be a blessing." Zech. viii. IS. 

What a difference is there between the state of 
nature and grace! The transition from the one to 
the other verifies and explains the words of the pro- 
phet: "Instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir 
tree; and instead of the brier, shall come up the 
myrtle tree." Hence says God— "As ye were a 
curse" — "Ye shall be a blessing." 

For the change affects them not only personally, 
but relatively. It begins with themselves, but it ex- 
tends to others ; and a zealous concern for the salva- 
tion of their own souls is always accompanied with a 



210 May 3.— Morning. 

benevolent anxiety for the salvation of their fellow- 
creatures. Their exertions for this purpose are indeed 
often ungratefully received; and they are reproach- 
fully desired to keep their religion to themselves. 
But this is enjoining upon them an impossibility. 
They cannot but speak the things which they have 
seen and heard — If these should hold their peace, 
the stones would cry out — The fire must burn — The 
spring must rise up. Others are not only excused, 
but commended — even if they err in the manner, who 
strive to heal the sick, to clothe the naked, and to feed 
the hungry: but Christians are called intermeddlers 
when they would exercise the noblest charity of all, 
which is spiritual mercy. Not that they neglect the 
body — Jesus himself did not. But he that converteth 
a sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul 
from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. 

David therefore said, "I will teach transgressors 
thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee." 
What a blessing was Andrew to his brother Peter ! 
and Philip to his friend Nathanael ! and the woman 
of Samaria to her fellow-citizens! — "Many believed 
on him for the saying of the woman." In this way 
Grod carries on his cause. He makes us the subjects 
of his grace, and then the mediums and the instru- 
ments. He could call fifty at once in a village. But 
what is commonly the case ? One is called first. He 
soon pities the condition of others ; and he goes to the 
minister by whom he was awakened, and informs him 
of the ignorance of his poor neighbours, and says, 
" Come over and help us." He goes : and a number 
believe and turn unto the Lord. A single grain of 
corn will produce several ears ; these ears will pro- 
duce many ears more ; and the increase in time will 



May 3. — Morning. 211 

be sufficient for the semination of a field, a province, 
^country — So says God of his people, '• I will sow 
UiOiU in .ud earth." Thus churches are raised, i'nus 
kingdoms are evangelized. 

Why are good men called "the chariots of Israel 
and the horsemen thereof" — "the salt of the earth" 
— " the light of the world " — " a dew from the Lord " 
— but to express the advantages others derive from 
them ? And who can tell the extent of the benefits 
produced by their prayers, example, and influence? 
We are persuaded that none of them are useless: 
and he who has been the means of the salvation of 
one soul, has done more than the hero who has de- 
livered a whole empire from civil bondage — for 
"there is joy in the presence of the angels of God 
over one sinner that' repenteth " — But what blessings 
have some individuals proved ! Think of Howard in 
his journeys of compassion — of Thornton and Eey- 
nolds in the diffusions of their bounty — of Luther in 
the work of the Eeformation — of Watts in his psalms 
and hymns — of Whitefield in his preaching — of a 
father and mother who bring up a family of children 
in the fear of the Lord — of the two or three indi- 
viduals that brought Christianity to this favoured 
country — of the few missionaries who landed in the 
South Sea Islands, and induced whole communities 
to turn from dumb idols to serve the true God, and to 
wait for his Son from heaven ! ! 

But they are made a blessing not only as they bless 
others, but as they are blessed by them. With regard 
to Joseph's offspring, the dying patriarch "blessed 
them that day, sayi^ 3 Grcyl make thee as Ephraim 
and as Manasseh." What did Balaam but bless them, 
though he was employed to curse, when he said, 



212 May 3. — Morning. 

"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy taber- 
nacles, Israel!" — "The Lord his God is with him, 
and the shout of a King is among them" — tl Let me 
die the death of the righteous, and' let my last end be 
like his." And thus their very enemies are inwardly 
constrained to admire and extol those whom they 
pretend to despise, and in words even revile. But 
how cordially are they blessed by those to whom they 
have been useful ! With what satisfaction does Job 
speak of this ! — " When the ear heard me it blessed 
me " — " The blessing of him that was read}?- to perish 
came upon me." "Blessed be my mistress," says a 
servant: "I was ignorant as a heathen when I en- 
tered her family; but she has led me into the way 
everlasting." " Blessed for ever be my precious 
mother," says many a child, "whose easy and gentle 
endeavours brought me up iu the nurture and admo- 
nition* of the Lord." Their fellow-Christians bless 
them as their brethren, companions, and helpers. 
Ministers say, "The blessing of the Lord be upon 
you : we bless you in the name of the Lord." " And 
their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and 
their offspring among all people : all that see them 
shall acknowledge them that they are the seed which 
the Lord hath blessed" — For, "Come," will the 
Judge say, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
the world." 



May 3.— Evening. 213 

MAY 3.— EVENING. 
" To reveal his Son in me." Gal. i. 16. 

To reveal is to lay open something which, though 
in existence before, was } r et unknown. The know- 
ledge of the Son of Grod is necessary for all the use 
we can make of him. And we may observe a four- 
fold revelation of him. The text only speaks of one 
of these : but they are all true ; and they are all 
profitable. 

There is a revelation of the Saviour to us. This is 
found in the Scripture, which, therefore, we often call 
emphatically "revelation." It discovers many things ; 
but he is the principal subject : and we are persuaded 
nothing has found a place in it but has some relation 
to him. This revelation early began. It dawned in 
Paradise, and the light continued to shine more and 
more unto the perfect day. All the Jewish ordinances 
and sacrifices prefigured him. Of him, Moses in the 
law, and the prophets, did write : and the testimony 
of Jesus was the spirit of prophecy. He came per- 
sonally as a preacher: and he was his own subject. 
He unbosomed himself to his disciples as far as they 
were able to bear it; and promised them a fuller 
manifestation. This was done when the Holy Spirit 
taught them all things; and brought all things to their 
remembrance that he had said unto them ; and in- 
spired them to communicate the information to others : 
that all might read and understand their knowledge 
in the mystery of Christ. 

There is a revelation of the Saviour in us. This is 
more than the former. Many who have access to the 
Scriptures will perish ; and all their knowledge will 



214 May 3.— Evening. 

only prove the savour of death unto death. There is, 
however, as to information, nothing in the internal 
revelation that is not in the external. It is not, there- 
fore, a new revelation in itself ; for the truths them- 
selves are as old as the Creation ; but it is new as to 
our perception and experience. If a man born blind 
were to receive his sight, he would not see a new 
sun, but it would be new to him. Even in a land of 
vision we may be called out of darkness into his mar- 
vellous light ; because the eyes of our understanding 
may be opened. We heard of these things before ; 
but now, in God's light, we see light. This illumina- 
tion shews us not only their reality, but their excel- 
lency; and, with their glory, fixes, and replenishes, 
and sways the soul. Be not satisfied with any thing 
short of this. Distinguish between a Christian in 
name, and a Christian indeed. Do not place your 
religion in anything without you. Have you the 
witness in yourselves ? Is Jhrist revealed in you ? 
Have you such a sight of him, by faith, as to see that 
he is fairer than the children of men? as to feel him 
infinitely endeared ? as to count all things but loss 
for the excellency of his knowledge ? This is what 
he himself means when he said, " He that seeth the 
Son, and belie veth on him, hath everlasting life." 

There is a revelation of him by us. It is our des- 
tiny, our duty, our privilege, to make him known. 
This is done by our being the subjects of his agency ; 
as the work displays the attributes of the author, and 
the streams proclaim the quality of the fountain. We 
should discover him by our resemblance, as his fol- 
lowers ; and by our testimony, as his witnesses. We 
can speak upon other subjects — Why not upon this? 
Who has not opportunities to extol him among chil- 



May 3. — Evening. 215 

dren, servants, friends, neighbours ? What do seek- 
ing souls want, but to see Jesus ? Or doubting ones, 
but to be assured of his love ? Have we been freely 
healed by him? Let us tell the diseased and dying 
of the Physician. Let us zealously aid every institu- 
tion that aims to shew forth his praise. Pray that his 
glory may be revealed, and that all flesh may see the 
salvation of our God. 

There is also a revelation of him with us. The 
world knoweth us not : it knew him not. We are 
now hid ; and he is hid ; and both are to be displayed 
at the same time. The day of the manifestation of 
the sons of God is also the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
And when he, who is our life, shall appear, we also 
shall appear with him in glory. Them that sleep in 
Jesus will God bring with him. They suffered with 
him, and they shall be glorified together. 

We wish to be distinguished. We want something 
exclusive : half the relish and value is gone, if others 
share with us. But his benevolence, his condescen- 
sion, are such, that he cannot be satisfied unless we 
partake with him : U T appoint unto you a kingdom, 
as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye may 
eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on 
thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." " To 
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in 
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
with my Father in his throne." — But where will the 
ungodly and sinner appear ? 



216 May 4. — Morning. 

MAY 4.— MORNING. 
"For even Christ pleased not himself:*" Rom. xv. 3. 

— Not as if his undertaking our cause was against 
his will ; or that he ever felt it to be a task and a 
grievance. He was voluntary in the engagement, 
and cheerful in the execution ; and could say, I have 
a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I strait- 
ened till it be accomplished ! — But he never followed 
the indulgence of his natural inclination. He pre- 
ferred the glory of God and our benefit to his own 
gratification. He did not consult his ease : but denied 
the demands of sleep when duty required exertion. 
He rejected, with anger, Peter's proposal to spare 
himself from suffering. He did not consult am- 
bitious feelings ; but refused the people' when they 
would have made him king. He stood not upon rank 
and consequence ; but washed the disciples' feet, and 
was among them as one that serveth. He was far 
more delighted with Mary's reception of his word 
than with Martha's preparation, for his appetite. He 
was not only thirsty, but hungry, when the disciples 
left him at the well to go and buy meat ; but when 
they returned, and said, Master, eat; he replied, "I 
have meat to eat which ye know not of — In your ab- 
sence I have had something above corporeal satisfac- 
tion — I have been saving a soul from death, and 
hiding a multitude of sins — My meat is to do the will 
of Him that sent me, and to finish his work." When 
the collectors of the Temple-tax came to Peter, he 
said to him, " What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom 
do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute ? of 
their own children or of strangers? Peter saith unto 



May 4. — Morning. 217 

him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are 
the children free — The Temple is the house of ray 
Heavenly Father, and I am his only begotten Son." 
But, though not bound like others, he foregoes his 
right, in order to avoid offence: "Notwithstanding, 
lest we should offend ;" that is, excite pain, or dis- 
like, or reflection, by their thinking we have not a 
proper regard to the Sanctuary and ordinances of 
God — "lest we should offend them, go thou to the 
sea, and cast in an hook, and take up the fish that first 
cometh up ; and when thou hast opened his mouth, 
thou shalt find a piece of money ; that take and give 
unto them for me and thee." This he exemplified all 
through life : He was, therefore, well prepared, and 
authorised to saj, " If any man will be my disciple, 
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and fol- 
low me." 

— And observe the use the Apostle makes of it — ■ 
Because Christ pleased not himself, therefore, "let the 
strong bear the infirmities of the weak, and not please 
themselves " — "Let every one of us please his neigh- 
bour for his good to edification." He, indeed, limits 
the duty. We are not to humour our brother in a 
sinful course: but only in things innocent and lawful 
— and we are to do this,- with a view to secure and 
promote his welfare, and not for any advantage of our 
own. But we are not to consult our own little con- 
veniences, and appetites, and wishes. We are not even 
to follow our convictions, in every disputed matter. 
"Let us not, therefore, judge one another anymore; 
but judge this rather, That no man put a stumbling- 
block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. I 
know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there 
is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth 
10 



218 May 4. — Morning. 

anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if 
thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest 
thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat 
for whom Christ died." Here, again, the Apostle calls 
in Jesus, as a motive, and an example — He denied 
himself so as to die for this weak brother, and will you, 
says he, refuse to deny yourselves in a trifling forbear- 
ance on his behalf? "It is good neither to eat flesh, 
nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother 
stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." 

Herein, too, Paul enjoins no more than he practised; 
for he drank deep into the Saviour's spirit — "I please 
all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but 
the profit of many, that they may be saved." "If 
meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh 
while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to 
offend." And hoAV noble does he here look ! And 
how below his principles does a Christian act, when he 
thinks of himself only ; his own accommodation — yea, 
even his own conscience ! He is to regard the satis- 
faction of another's mind, as well as his own ; and is 
to walk, not only righteously, but charitably. Yet 
some say, "/do not think it sinful; therefore I am not 
obliged to abstain " — And was Paul obliged to abstain? 
All things were pure to him ; but he would not eat 
with offence. Some seem never to regard how their 
conduct will affect others: but the Scripture says, 
"Give none offence: neither to the Jews nor to the 
Gentiles nor to the Church of God." Asaph was 
checked in his improper language by remembering 
that, if he so spake, he should "offend against the 
generation of the upright." Let us, therefore, beware 
of throwing stumblingblocks in the way of the blind. 
Let us make straight paths for our feet, lest that which 



May 4. — Morning. 219 

is lame be turned out of the way : but let it rather be 
healed. 

Christianity is designed to refine and soften ; to take 
away the heart of stone, and to give us hearts of flesh, 
to polish off the rudeness and arrogances of our man- 
ners and tempers ; and to make us blameless and harm- 
less, the sons of God, without rebuke. Lord Chatham, 
in one of his Letters to his Nephew, finely says } 
"Politeness is benevolence in little things." Eeligion 
should make us the most polite creatures in the world ; 
and what persons of rank do from education, we should 
do from principle ; yielding our own desires, and claims, 
to become all things to all men, if by any means we 
may gain some ; and be not only sincere, but without 
offence, until the day of Christ. 

If so, some professors of religion have much to learn. 
They think of nothing but their own indulgence. They 
know nothing of bearing with infirmity; of waiting 
for improvement ; of watching for opportunity. They 
are decisive, and dictatorial, and hasty, and severe. 
They pride themselves only on what they call faithful- 
ness, and which is the easiest thing in religion to them, 
because it falls in with their own natural temper — not 
to say, that frequently what they mean by fidelity is 
only rudeness and insolence. But while we can do 
nothing against the truth, but for the truth, we are re- 
quired to be courteous; and to pursue whatsoever 
things are lovely, and of good report. 

And, without this, professors will not only render 
religion unamiable and repulsive ; but will lower them- 
selves in general estimation, and lose the influence 
which is derivable from reputation and esteem. Who 
can regard the haughty and the selfish? But for a 
good man some would even dare to die. An inoffen- 



220 May 4.— Evening. 

sive, self-denying, lovely disposition and carriage wins 
the heart. It is not in our power to love, but it is in our 
power to be loved. Our loving another depends upon 
him ; and here we have no control : but another's lov- 
ing us depends upon ourselves ; and he that will have 
friends, must show himself friendly. 

Doddridge buried a most interesting child at nine 
years of age. The dear little creature was a general 
favourite ; and he tells us in his Funeral Sermon, that 
when he one day asked her, how it was that every- 
body loved her — I know not, she said, unless it be 
that I love everybody. — Tell your children this. Also 
read to them — "The child Samuel grew on, and was 
in favour both with the Lord and also with men." 

11 For he that in these things serveth Christ, is ac- 
ceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us, there- 
fore, follow after things which make for peace, and 
things wherewith one may edify another." 



MAY 4— EVENING. 

"And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great 
joy: and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. 
Amen." Luke xxiv. 52, 53. 

This was the consequence of the affecting transaction 
recorded in the preceding verses. "He led them out 
as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and 
blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed 
them, he was parted from them, and carried up into 
heaven "■ — Upon this four things are recorded of these 
blessed disciples. 

First, their adoration of him — " They worshipped 
him." Full of astonishment, and straining their eyes 



May 4. — Evening. 221 

to follow him in his traceless flight, they were standing 
when he had ascended : and hence the angelic mes- 
sengers said, " Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" 
They then kneeled, and prostrated themselves upon 
the ground — and " worshipped him." And what was 
this worship ? It was nothing less than Divine. It 
was addressed to a being now absent, and whose 
senses therefore could not advertize him of the homage: 
for they not only worshipped, but worshipped him. 
The enemies of the present truth are embarrassed with 
the case of Stephen. They cannot deny that he prayed 
to Christ, when he said, "Lord Jesus, receive my 
spirit;" and "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." 
But they reply, that he saw Christ "standing on the 
right hand of God :" and therefore addressed him ; con- 
ceding that to have addressed him in this manner, had 
he been absent and invisible, would have been no less 
than idolatry. Yet not to observe that the petitions 
themselves were very strange ones, to offer to a crea- 
ture, even if present and in sight, we find prayer ad- 
dressed to him when he was undeniably invisible and 
absent. Paul speaks of "all who called upon the 
name of the Lord Jesus." In his own prayer for the 
Thessalonians he mentions him, even before the Fa- 
ther. " Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, 
even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given 
us everlasting consolation and good hope through 
grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every 
good word and work." And the disciples here wor- 
shipped him after " he was carried up into heaven." 

Secondly. Their obedience — "And they returned 
to Jerusalem." We call this obedience, because he 
had expressly enjoined it. "Tarry ye in the city of 
Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on 



222 May 4.— Evening. 

high." "Being assembled together with them, h<s 
commanded them that they should not depart from 
Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father." 
It was all along foretold that the Christian dispensa- 
tion was to commence from the metropolis of Judaea. 
" The Lord shall send the rod of his strength out of 
Zion." "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the 
word of the Lord from Jerusalem." There Jesus died 
and rose again. There the Apostles were to open 
their commission; and the Holy Spirit was to be 
poured down to qualify them to preach the Gospel to 
every creature. At this time Judaea was the centre 
of the known world; for America was not yet dis- 
covered, and probably not inhabited. It was the 
most surrounded and the most accessible situation; 
and therefore when the Lord made the feast unto 
all people, he spread it upon this mountain ; the 
table was in the middle of the room. It would be an 
evidence in favour of Christianity, that it was pub- 
lished immediately on the spot where the facts were 
alleged to have occurred. And it would shew the 
compassionate disposition of the Founder, that he 
would have repentance and remission of sin in his 
Name to be published first at Jerusalem. Hence he 
required their return thither. And they, instead of 
fleeing or concealing themselves, repaired back to a 
place full of danger — a place where lately they had 
killed their Master, and would be still more likely to 
hate and persecute themselves. This would be a 
great trial of their obedience. They were going like 
lambs into a lair of wolves. But they had nothing to 
do with events. They knew his order for their con- 
duct ; and the path of duty is the path of safety. 
Yea, we see, 



May 4.— Evening. 223 

Thirdly, their gladness ; for they not only returned, 
but "with great joy." This seems surprising. He 
is a bad relation, we say, that is not missed. How we 
feel the removal of a friend or a minister who has 
been useful to us ! and not to feel, would be a criminal 
insensibility. What a loss then did the disciples sus- 
tain when deprived of their Lord and Saviour who 
had always guided, preserved, and comforted them! 
Accordingly, when the intimation was first given, sor- 
row filled their hearts. But we here see the advantage 
of knowledge. For he had opened their understand- 
ings, and explained to them the Scriptures : and they 
now saw — That though he was going to leave them 
as to his bodily presence, he would be with them 
spiritually — That his departure would result in his 
own exaltation and glory — That it was also expedient 
for themselves that he went away — That he would 
appear in the presence of Grod for them, and be their 
advocate with the Father — That he would be able to 
make all things work together for their good — That 
he would prepare a place for them, and come again 
and receive them unto himself, that where he was they 
might be also. And what could they want more to 
induce them to rejoice? But, 

Fourthly, they were as grateful as they were joyful 
— "And were continually in the temple praising and 
blessing God." That is, they constantly repaired 
thither at the seasons of devotion. For we read that 
"when" upon their return to Jerusalem "they were 
come in, they went up into an upper room, where 
abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, 
Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, 
James the son of Alphaeus, and. Simon Zelotes, and 
Judas the brother of James. These all continued 



224 May 5.— Morning. 

witli one accord in prayer and supplication, with the 
women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his 
brethren." But their private engagements did not 
keep them from the public services of the sanctuary 
as often as they returned. We are not to forsake the 
house of our God : and we are to " enter his gates 
with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise." It is 
easy to 'see what was the cause of their excitement, 
and which led them to magnify the Lord, and to 
exalt his name together. They blessed and praised 
him for all their mercies, but, above all, for his un- 
speakable Gift — That he was delivered for their 
offences and raised again for their justification — 
That he ever lived to make intercession for them — 
That he had taken possession of heaven on their 
behalf — and that in him they were blessed with all 
spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Let us cherish 
the same disposition, and follow their example. And 
let our gratitude be real and practical. Let us shew 
forth his praise, not only with our lips, but in our 
lives. "God is the Lord, which hath shewed us 
light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the 
horns of the altar." 



MAT &.— MORNING 

"If thou kaewest the gift of God." Johx it. 10. 

As if he had said to the woman — Thou mistakest 
me for a mere Jew, wandering and weary, and sitting 
thus on the well, and asking for the refreshment of 
water, seemingly dependent on the kindness of a 
stranger. But if thou wert acquainted with me — that 
I am the Mercy promised from the beginning; the 



May 5. — Morning. 225 

Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth ; 
that I am come into the world to save sinners ; and 
that in me all fulness dwells — what an opportunity 
wouldst thou find is now afforded thee — "If thou 
knewest the Gift of God." — 

He calls himself the gift of God, because he came 
not according to the course of nature. A body was 
prepared him. A virgin conceives, and bears a Son ; 
and the holy thing born of her is called, The Son of 
God. — We go also further. A preternatural inter- 
position might have taken place in a way of wrath ; 
and this is what seemed most probable in the case, and 
would have been the foreboding of our guilty minds. 
But God sent not his only begotten Son into the 
world to condemn the world, but that the world 
through him might be saved. He therefore came, 
not according to any rule of desert. A few years ago, 
we heard much of the rights of man ; and though the 
expression was abused, and brought into contempt, 
there is a propriety in it. Man has rights, with re- 
gard to his fellow-creatures. Children have rights, 
with regard to parents ; and subjects, with regard to 
sovereigns. A man has a right to enjoy the fruit of 
his labour ; he has a right to worship the Supreme 
Being according to his conscience. But what were 
his rights with regard to God ? What right to pro- 
tection has a subject that has become rebellious ? 
What right to wages has a servant that has run away 
from his master? As sinners, we had forfeited all 
expectation from God — except a fearful looking-for of 
judgment and fiery indignation. We could have no 
right to the bread we eat, or the air we breathe. 
What claim, then, had we upon God for the Son of 
his love ? He was a gift infinitely free ; and not only 
10* 



226 May 5. — Morning. 

free as opposed to desert, but also as opposed to desire. 
Was lie withholden till we felt our need of him, aud 
became suppliants at our offended Maker's feet ? 
Ages before we were born, the plan was formed, 
and accomplished, and announced. And when we 
are desirous of obtaining the blessings of it, we find 
them provided ; and hear a voice, saying, Come, for 
all things are now ready. All other good, too, is in- 
sured by him. He that spared not his own Son, but 
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him 
also freely give us all things ? Yea, he has given us 
all things in him ; and whatever a perishing sinner 
needs, even to life eternal, is to be derived from him. 

— And if you knew the gift of God — surely you 
would say, with the Apostle, " Thanks be unto G-od 
for his unspeakable gift. "You should overlook no- 
thing in his bountj^ : but gratitude should bear some 
proportion to the favour it acknowledges. What is 
the sun in Nature, to this Sun of Eighteousness ! 
What is our daily bread, to this Bread of Life ! Here 
are the exceeding riches of his grace — in his kindness 
towards us by Christ Jesus. 

— If you knew the gift of G-od, surely you would 
avail yourselves of it. You would consider a partici- 
pation of him as the one thing needful. You would 
receive him as he is presented in the Gospel ; and as 
Zaccheus received him. who made haste, and came 
down, and received him joyfully. 

— If you knew the gift of God, you would not 
yield to despondency. You would not say, by way 
of objection, I have no money, no worthiness. This 
is supposed. Who thinks of buying a gift ? of de- 
serving a gift ? especially such a gift ! 

— If you knew the gift of God, you would make 



May 5. — Evening. 227 

him known. You would commend him to your 
children, your relations, your friends, your neigh- 
bours — You would pray, "Let the whole earth be 
filled with his glory" — 

" His worth, if all the nations knew, 
Sure the whole earth would love him too." 



MAY 5.— EVENING. 

"Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die." 

1 Cor. xv. 32. 

When Isaiah had foretold the invasion of Judgea 
by the Chaldeans ; "In that day did the Lord God of 
hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to bald- 
ness, and to girdling with sackcloth; behold, joy and 
gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, 
and drinking wine — let us eat and drink; for to- 
morrow we shall die." If we quote the Wisdom of 
Solomon, it is not because we consider it inspired 
Scripture, but as evidence to support the common 
prevalence of this wretched sentiment at the period it 
was written: "For our time is a very shadow that 
passeth away: and after our end, there is no return- 
ing : for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again. 
Come on, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that 
are present ; and let us speedily use the creatures like 
as in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine 
and ointments : and let no flower of the spring pass 
by us. Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before 
they be withered. Let none of us go without his part 
of our voluptuousness : let us leave tokens of our joj^- 
fulness in every place : for this is our portion, and our 
lot is this." This indeed in all ages and countries 
has been the manual of devotion for those worship- 



228 May 5. — Evening. 

pers whose god is their belly, who glory in thei? 
shame, and who mind earthly things. 

It admits a fact too clear to be questioned. The 
living know that they shall die. The very men 
before us confess it ; yea, they acknowledge that the 
event is not only certain, but near — " To- r morrow we 
die." And this was true ; for death is always near in 
possibility ; and is never far off in reality. Yet r 
instead of saying, As we must die shortly, and may 
die soon, therefore we ought to be prepared for the 
event, they make it a motive to encourage licen- 
tiousness — "Let us eat and drinJc, FOR to-morrow we 
die." What a proof have we here of the truth of the 
Fall ! " The heart of the sons of men is fall of evil, 
and madness is in their heart while they live." We 
could as soon believe that Grod made fiends as that 
he made the human race what they now are. " God 
made man upright, but they sought out many inven- 
tions." 

But how stands the truth of the charge with regard 
to us ? Let none imagine that they are innocent be- 
cause they have never uttered the sentiment in so 
many words. Your temper and actions speak louder 
than words — And what is their language ? Does it 
not say unto Grod, " Depart from us, for we desire not 
the knowledge of thy ways ?" Does it t not seem to 
avow that nothing shall disturb your carnality and 
carelessness ? and that if life be short, you are re- 
solved it shall not be sad ? 

But is the reasoning or excitement such a mon- 
strous perversion of every thing right as it appears ? 
Let us place it on two grounds. Are you believers in 
Revelation? Do you admit that there is really an 
eternal world, and that you are always on the brink 



May 5. — Evening. 229 

of it? You are then worse than infidels, not as to 
your creed — this is truth, but as to your practice, which 
is inconsistent and senseless beyond all power of 
language to express. But if you are unbelievers, if 
you deny a future state, and think that we are mere 
masses of matter, that we perish like the beasts, and 
nothing survives death ; you are but acting consistent- 
ly with your belief, and you may then well say, "Let 
us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." The pre- 
sent is all the happiness you know, and you would be 
fools not to make the most of it — Therefore we would 
say to you, Go on — only remarking two things. First, 
be sure, perfectly sure, of your premises. But you 
cannot demonstrate that there is no world to come, no 
judgment after death. The utmost you can reach is 
probability. If a doubt remains in a case of such tre- 
mendous import, it must be enough to break all your 
repose whenever it recurs, and to stamp your conduct 
with insanity. Probability would be sufficient to jus- 
tify a man on the other side, the safe side, the side on 
which, if we are mistaken as to our main expectation, we 
must be gainers upon the whole, and present gainers J 
but nothing less than absolute certainty can justify you. 
When Thistlewood the traitor was ascending the drop, 
he said to his companions, referring to the doubtful- 
ness of an existence after death, "We shall soon know 
the great secret." And so they would. Yet what 
madness and wretchedness to leave it undetermined 
till the discovery could be of no advantage, and the 
truth of the condemnation was proved by the execu- 
tion of the sentence, and hell was seen and suffered at 
once! "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let 
thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk 
in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine 



230 May 5. — Evening. 

eyes : but know thou, that for all these things God. will 
bring thee into judgment." 

Secondly, even admitting the truth of your premi- 
ses, your conduct is not rational unless intemperance 
and luxury were the truest and highest enjoyment of 
life. Bat it would be easy to prove that they are not. 
It is worthy of observation that Epicurus himself, 
though he contemned religion in every form, and ex- 
cluded a future state, and contended that pleasure was 
the great end of life, yet recommended the practice of 
universal virtue, and thought the virtues were to be 
cherished not on their own account, but for the sake of 
pleasure. He was himself the most plain and temper- 
ate of men, lived sparingly, and on the plainest food, 
always attesting that this was best not only for health 
but enjoyment; and employed it as a maxim, "That 
he lived most pleasantly who lived most temperately." 
We have better authority than this ; and we are sure 
that good men have not only a thousand enjoyments 
of a nature which others know nothing of; but as to 
those kinds of pleasure which the men of the world 
value (unless the pleasures of sin), the pleasures of time 
and sense, they have by far the pre-eminence. Godli- 
ness is profitable unto all things ; it has the promise of 
the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. 
Others may possess more, but we know who hath said, 
"The meek shall inherit the earth." " Go thy way, 
eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a 
merry heart ; for God now accepteth thy works. Let 
thy garments be always white ; and let thy head lack 
no ointment." 



May 6.— Morning. 231 



MAY 6.— MORNING. 

" Therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer 
unto thee." 2 Sam. vii. 27. 

Where did he find his inclination and power to 
pray? "In his heart." The heart is every thing in 
religion. Man judgeth according to the outward ap- 
pearance ; but the Lord looketh to the heart ; and re- 
quires it — My son, give me thy heart. "Where he does 
not find this, He finds nothing. Where this speaks 
words are needless ; he knows what is the mind of the 
spirit. Hannah — she spake in her heart ; only her lips 
moved, but her voice was not heard — yet what a prayer 
she prayed! and how successfully! It is a blessed 
thing, therefore, to find it in our heart to pray — so 
that, while it is with many a bodily exercise only ; a 
task which they would gladly decline ; an effort forced 
upon them from something without, from some dan- 
ger, or trouble : we may do it naturally : and therefore 
constantly and pleasantly, from a principle in us — like 
a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. 

And what was the prayer he found there ? It was 
this — -"Let the house of thy servant David be established 
before thee." David had a peculiar concern for his 
family; and, from his character, we may be assured, 
he wished it to be not only or principally glorious, but 
good. It is a man's duty to seek to promote the tem- 
poral welfare of his house ; for he that provideth not 
for his own, especially those of his own house, hath 
denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. But the 
wish of many is not to build up their house in Israel, 
but in the world. They are only anxious for an increase 
of earthly wealth and honour. And how inj urious have 
such risings in life proved to. the comfort and the reli- 



232 May 6.— Morning. 

gion of the family! And how inconsiderate and incon- 
sistent are parents, especially if they are pious ones, in 
longing for such perils, when they know the depravity 
of human nature, and the snares of prosperity ! How 
much better is it to see, and to leave their household 
great in the sight of the Lord ; and under the blessing 
of that Providence which will make all things work to- 
gether for their good ! 

And what produced this prayer? "Therefore" — 
" For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast reveal- 
ed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house :" 
" therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray 
this prayer unto thee." He had refused him the 
pleasure and honour of building the Temple wbich he 
had purposed. But he should be no loser. The will 
should be taken for the deed. Though he did not 
build God a house, God would build him a house — and 
except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain 
that build it. But all things are possible with him : 
and them that honour him, he will honour. What 
the king said to his prime minister — " You mind my 
affairs, and I will mind yours " — he says to each of his 
servants : Serve me yourselves ; and be persuaded that 
my blessing is upon my people, and the generation of 
the upright shall be blessed. 

— But see — the certainty of a thing does not super- 
sede the use of the means in attaining it. Why should 
David pray for it, when God had pledged himself to 
do it ? So some would argue : but it would be the 
arguing of folly. The Scripture, the wisdom of God, 
knows nothing of this perversion. No doctrine there 
leads to enthusiasm. There the means and the end 
are connected. There activity grows out of depend- 
ence ; and zeal, out of confidence. There God says, 



May 6. — Evening. 233 

after he lias promised the thing, "I will yet be in- 
quired of by the House of Israel to do it for them." 
Yea, we see prayer is not only consistent with the 
promise, but derived from it. It is this that furnishes 
the matter of our petitions : it is this that gives us all 
our encouragements. 

Therefore let us be thankful for the promises. Let 
us search them out. Let us place them opposite all 
our wants. Let us plead them, and say, Eemember 
the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast 
caused him to hope. And, as then we can ask in 
faith, so we may pray with confidence : for whatso- 
ever we ask according to his will, we know he hear- 
eth us. 

MAY 6.— EVENING. 

"And lie said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and 
shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me 
three loaves ; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me and I 
have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer 
and say, Trouble me not; the door is now shut, and my children are 
with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though 
he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of 
his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one 
that asketh receiveth : and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that 
knocketh it shall be opened." Luke xi. 5-10. 

Never man spake like this man. He taught as 
one having authority, but not as the Scribes. This 
applies to the manner as well as the subject of his 
preaching. He had nothing of official parade and 
unfeeling severity ; but was gentle and affectionate, 
and came down as the rain on the mown grass. One 
thing cannot be overlooked — It was the easy and fami- 



234 May 6.— Evening. 

liar mode in which lie delivered the most important 
doctrine. Here were no dry definitions, no logical 
subtleties, no abstract reasonings, no lengthened argu- 
mentations, no abstruse allusions parading the erudi- 
tion of the speaker, but darkening counsel with words 
without knowledge to the multitude — In his ministry 
the poor had the gospel preached unto them; the 
common people heard him gladly. He commended 
himself to every man's conscience by a simple mani- 
festation of the truth ; and always reached the heart 
by appeals the most touching and tender, and by 
images the most natural, conclusive, and interesting. 
I have read treatises on repentance, but I never derived 
half the instruction and impression from them all, 
that I have found in the parable of the prodigal son. 
We have had lectures on humility. But when his 
disciples were disputing for pre-eminence in his em- 
pire, " He called a little child unto him, and set him in 
the midst of them, and said, Yerily I say unto you, 
except ye be converted, and become as little children, 
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. "Who- 
soever therefore shall humble himself as this little 
child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven." 

Here he is teaching them to pray — but while he 
informs, he excites and encourages. He argues from 
the less to the greater, and makes the contrast con- 
duce to his aim as well as the comparison. A man 
indisposed to the thing itself, and even complaining 
of the application, may grant a request to importunity 
— How much more may we hope to succeed with God, 
whose goodness like his power is infinite ! 

But O the execution that is done in the filling up 
of the representation ! It intimates, first, that in 



May 6.— Evening. 235 

prayer we may go to God in the character of "a 
friend." And how pleasing and inviting is it to view 
the Supreme Being as standing in such a relation to 
us, aud to know that we have not only a real but a 
perfect, yea, a Divine friend, who is nigh unto us in 
all that we call upon him for! Secondly, that we 
may come to him at any season, even though it be 
" at midnight." He never slumbers or sleeps ; never 
complains of surprise or interruption. We are allowed, 
we are commanded to pray without ceasing. David 
says, "Miming, and evening, and at noon will I pray 
and cry aloud :" and " at midnight I will rise aud give 
thanks unto thee, because of thy righteous judgments." 
Never wait for a more convenient or favourable period 
— go to him immediately — in the midnight gloom of 
thy experience or condition — He can turn the shadow 
of death into the morning. Thirdly, that we are al- 
lowed to ask of him largely — "Send me three loaves." 
Fourthly, that we need not be ashamed to tell him 
our destitute and straitened condition — "I have no- 
thing to set before him." Fifthly, that we must be 
earnest and persevering in our addresses. "Asking," 
"seeking," "knocking," are not a mere repetition, but 
an emphatical gradation. Importunity is not neces- 
sary to move God ; but it is necessary to evince our 
sincerity, and to prepare us to enjoy his undeserved 
favours with improvement and praise. Lastly, that 
none who ask, and seek, and knock, shall be refused 
— " For whoso asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh 
findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." 
We often talk of holding a man by his word ; and if 
he be an honest man, we have nothing by which we 
can hold him more firmly. Here we have the assur- 
ance of Truth itself. He cannot deny himself. Let 



236 May 7.— Morning. 

as therefore take Him at his word, and relying on his 
engagement, whoever we are, whatever be our character 
and condition, draw near in full assurance of faith, and 
be filled with all joy and peace in believing, that 
we may abound in hope through the power of the 
Holy Ghost. 



MAY 7.— MORNING. 
s< The Sun of Righteousness shall arise.'' Mal. iv. 2. 

He is called the Sun of Eighteousness, to intimate 
that he is the same in the righteous world as the orb 
of day is in the natural. The importance of the latter 
is acknowledged by all ; but the value of the former 
is infinitely greater. What are the interests of time 
and sense, to those of the soul and eternity ! 

We know there is only one sun in our system : and 
there is but one Mediator between God and man. 
Neither is there salvation in any other — I am the 
way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the 
Father but by me. The vastness of the sun is sur- 
prising : but Jesus is the Lord of all. His greatness 
is unsearchable. The beauty and glory of the sun 
are such, that, in the absence of Eevelation, and when 
creatures were idols, we can scarcely wonder that this 
illustrious display of Deity should have been adored. 
But He is fairer than the children of men — Yea, he is 
altogether lovely ; and all the angels of God are com- 
manded to worship him. But consider the inesti- 
mable usefulness of this luminary ! How he enlight- 
ens ! warms ! fructifies ! adorns ! blesses ! What 
changes does he produce ! How he fills the air with 



May 7.— Morning. 237 

songs, and the gardens with fruit and fragrance ! How 
he clothes the woods with foliage, and the meadows 
with grass ! How he fills the valleys with corn, and 
makes the little hills rejoice on every side : and crowns 
the year with his goodness I — And this he has always 
done. The sun that ripened Isaac's corn, ripens ours ; 
and though he has shone for so many ages, he is un- 
diminished, and is as all-sufficient as ever. What an 
image of Him, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever ! who has always been the source of light, 
life, relief, and comfort ! the hope, the consolation of 
Israel ! the desire of all nations ! Truly light is sweet ; 
and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the 
sun. But he that seeth the Sun of Kighteousness, 
and belie veth on him, hath everlasting life. 

The rising of the sun is the finest spectacle in the 
creation. I fear some never saw it; at least at the 
most interesting season of the year. What, to them, 
are a thousand rising suns to the sublimity and indul- 
gence of lying late in bed I 

But when and how does the Sun of Eighteousness 
arise ? His coming was announced immediately after 
the Fall, when God said, the seed of the woman shall 
bruise the Serpent's head. This was the very first 
beam of the early dawn of that light which was to 
shine more and more unto the perfect day. His ap- 
proach obscurely appeared in the types and services 
of the Ceremonial Law. In the clearer discoveries of 
the prophets, the morning was beginning to spread 
upon the mountains. But to the Jews he was below 
the horizon : they longed to see his day ; and kings 
and righteous men pressed forward to the brightness 
of his rising. At length, he actually arose ; and when 
the fulness of time was come — God sent forth his Son. 



238 May 7.— Morning. 

A messenger from heaven proclaimed him to the 
shepherds, and said, I bring you glad tidings of great 
joy. The Saviour is born ! Oh the splendour of that 
morning! — It brought glory to God in the highest, 
and on earth peace, good will towards men — God WAS 

MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. 

— He rises in the dispensation of the Gospel. 
Whenever this enters a nation or a village, He is 
evidently set forth, and the savour of his knowledge 
diffused. It is then said to the place, and to the peo- 
ple, Arise, shine, for thy light has come, and the glory 
of the Lord is risen upon thee. 

— He rises in spiritual illumination. Then he is 
revealed in us. He is presented to the eye of the soul. 
He is seen in a new manner. He fixes and fills the 
mind ; he governs the life. 

— He rises in renewed manifestations. For some- 
times he hides his face and we are troubled. Then 
we anxiously ask, O when wilt thou come unto me ? 
Then we wait for him more than they that watch for 
the morning — and when we behold him again, find a 
brighter day. 

— He rises in ordinances. What fresh and enliven- 
ing views of him have we often in meditation ; in 
prayer ; in his own Supper ; in reading and hearing 
his word ! Hence, says Cowper, 

— " Sometimes a light surprises 

The Christian while he sings ; 
It is the Lord, that rises 
With healing in his wings." 

But how will he arise in the irradiations of heaven 
— in the morning of immortality; making a day, to 
be sullied with no cloud, to be followed by no evening 



May 7.— Evening. 239 

shade ! Then their sun shall no more go down ; but, 
as the same Poet sings, 

" God shall rise, and, shining o'er you, 
Turn to day the gloomy night ; 
He, your God, shall be your glory, 
And your everlasting light." 



MAY 1.— EVENING. 
" I am pacified toward thee." Ezek. xvi. 63. 

There can be no pacifying, without previous of- 
fence and provocation. Sin rouses the displeasure of 
God. Therefore he says, "Oh do not that abominable 
thing which I hate!" . He is of purer eyes than to 
behold iniquity. The wicked shall not stand in his 
sight. It is no trifling thing to provoke a fellow-crea- 
ture. Every one is able to injure us : but some pos- 
sess larger influence and power. It is spoken of as a 
great disadvantage in contention to be "as one that 
striveth with the priest:" and it is said, "the wrath of 
a king is as the roaring of a lion." But to fall into 
the hands of the living God ! Man is mortal, and soon 
dies. And as the injury he inflicts is temporary, so it 
is limited. At most he can only kill the body — there 
is no more that he can do — But there is One " who, 
after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell." 
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy ? Are we stronger 
than he t Hast thou an arm like God, or canst thou 
thunder with a voice like his f As sinners, therefore, 
we lay entirely at his mercy, and he could easily and 
righteously have destroyed us, "and that without re- 
medy." But he was not revengeful or implacable. 
He was not only willing to be pacified ; he even 



240 May 7. — Evening. 

devised means for the purpose — for by grace are we 
saved. 

This pacification is to be viewed three ways : in the 
cross ; in the Gospel ; and in the conscience. In the 
cross it is accomplished. Though God is good and 
merciful, he must maintain the honour of his law, de- 
fend his truth, and display the rectitude of his govern- 
ment. Hence he set forth his Son, "to be a propitia- 
tion — to declare his righteousness — that he might be 
just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." 
Hence also we are told that Christ " made reconcilia- 
tion for the sins of the people." His death was infi- 
nitely valuable, not only from his innocency, but his 
divinity; and was "an offering and a sacrifice to God 
for a sweetsmelling savour." Thus while sin is con- 
demned it is pardoned ; and God is glorified while we 
ar3 redeemed. There is now no hinderance to a sin- 
ner's return on the part of God ; and " we have bold- 
ness to enter into the holiest of all by the blood of 
Jesus." "What do people mean when they talk of 
making their peace with God? If such peace can be 
made, it was made by the blood of the cross. If our 
tears, and confessions, and performances, could have 
accomplished the work, God would surely have 
spared his own Son an immensity of needless suffer- 
ing. If without shedding of blood there is no remis- 
sion, Christ has been sacrificed for us, or we are yet in 
our sins. 

In the Gospel it is revealed. In vain the work had 
been effected unless it had been made known. But 
now the righteousness of God without the law is mani- 
fested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets : 
and whatever obscurity attaches to any other subject 
in the Scriptures, the light of life shines on this sub- 



May 7.— Evening. 241 

ject with peculiar lustre. The Peacemaker himself 
came and preached peace : and sent forth also his 
servants to publish it every where, and upon the 
house-tops. The Gospel ministry is called the ministry 
of reconciliation ; that is, that God was in Christ re- 
conciling the world unto himself, not imputing their 
trespasses unto them. Upon this ground, says the 
Apostle, "we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
God did beseech you by us : we pray you in Christ's 
stead, be ye reconciled to God." How blind must 
that guide be, who does not shew unto men this way 
of salvation ! What a physician of no value is he who 
does not employ this balm of Gilead in the cure of 
souls ! — By his stripes we are healed. 

In the conscience it -is realized. In vain is it not 
only procured but published, if it be rejected or dis- 
regarded. It must be applied by faith. Then we 
receive the atonement ; rely upon it ; plead it ; and 
have access to the Father with confidence. By be- 
lieving we enter into rest; and being justified by 
faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ ; not only peace above, but peace within. 
And it is a peace which passeth all understanding. 
For he is pacified perfectly, and for ever. Who can 
describe the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord 
will not impute sin ? and who is able to say, "As far 
as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed 
our transgressions from us?" God's frown darkens 
the universe; but when he smiles every thing rejoices. 
Eternity has no dread. Death has no sting. Afflic- 
tion has no curse. "In that day," therefore, says the 
Church, "0 Lord, I will praise thee: though thou 
wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and 
thou comfortedst me." 

11 



242 May 7.— Evening 

Nor is this experience unfriendly to holiness, and 
good works. Yea, it is necessary to them : and be- 
lievers are witnesses of these things. The world may 
think their liberty is licentious : but they run in the 
way of his commandments when God hath enlarged 
their heart. The joy of the Lord, instead of weaken- 
ing their motives to duty, is their strength. The 
comforts of the Holy Ghost, instead of being opiates, 
prove cordials, and give them life more abundantly. 
The promises cleanse them. Hope purines them. 
What says the Apostle ? " How much more shall the 
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit of- 
fered himself without spot to God, purge your con- 
science from dead works to serve the living God?" 
What says God in the words before us? " That thou 
mayest remember, and be confounded, and never 
open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, 
when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast 
done." The apprehension of wrath not only terrifies, 
but repels. We hate those we dread. We cannot 
love a Being while we view him as an enemy to our 
happiness. 

Till I knew God as the God of peace, my heart 
could no more bleed than a stone. But when I saw 
his glory in the face of Jesus Christ, when I saw his 
abundant mercy, and the exceeding richness of his 
grace, not only in sparing me so long, but in being 
willing to receive me after all my offences ; and es- 
pecially in having, not only without my desert, but 
even desire, provided a Saviour in whom I have 
righteousness, and strength, and all spiritual bless- 
ings in heavenly places ; and was enabled to realize 
the whole by faith — then the stone became flesh — 
then I cried, God be merciful to me a sinner — then I 



May 8. — Morning. 243 

sorrowed after a godly sort. The prodigal could 
view the evil of his conduct in the misery to which 
it had reduced him ; and he had some sense of his 
shame when he resolved to return and say, "I have 
sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no 
more worthy to be called thy son ; make me as one 
of thy hired servants" — But he felt it a thousand 
times more when his father fell upon his neck and 
kissed him. how did he repent and condemn him- 
self for having grieved such a parent ! how did he 
weep when they put on the best robe ; and ushered 
him into the room of festivity — "Yes, tears of joy!" 
— Nay, but tears of ingenuous sorrow too ! 



MAY 8.— MORNING. 
" I will look for him." Isa. viii. 17. 

This is peculiar language. It is the language of 
none in heaven. There all have found him, and are 
for ever with the Lord. It is the language of none 
in hell. There they are only concerned to escape from 
his hand, and to elude his eye. It is not the language 
of any in the world. There they are sufficiently active 
and eager ; but they rise early, and sit up late, and 
eat the bread of sorrow, to gain some temporal ad- 
vantage, honour, or pleasure — but none saith, "Where 
is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night ?" It 
is not the language of all in the church. There are 
some happy souls who know the joyful sound, and 
walk in the light of God's countenance : in his Name 
they rejoice all the day, and in his righteousness they 
are exalted. But there are others, whose desire is to 
his Name, and to the remembrance of him; whose 



244 May 8. — Morning. 

wish is, " Oh, that I were as in months past, when 
the candle of the Lord shined upon my head, and the 
Almighty was yet with me." These — these are the 
persons who are saying — and they cannot do better 
than to say — " I will look for him." 

It is here supposed that God may hide himself from 
his people. Indeed it is expressly asserted in the 
former part of the verse : "I will wait upon the Lord, 
who hideth himself from the house of Jacob." Some- 
times he does this as. to providential dispensations, 
suffering them to fall into trouble, and for awhile 
leaving them, as if he had no regard for them, and 
had forgotten to be gracious. But we now refer to 
spiritual manifestations. Sometimes they are so in 
the dark, that they are unable to perceive their con- 
dition, or to enjoy the comforts of the Holy Ghost. 
God loves them always, and they cannot serve him in 
vain ; but they cannot always see this, as they once 
did. The sun is as really in his course, in a dark 
day, as in a bright one ; but his face is hid by fogs 
and clouds: and, David says to his God, "Thou 
didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." For when 
we are in the dark with regard to him, other things 
come forth and dismay us — and it is true, morally, as 
well as physically, " Thou makest darkness, and it is 
night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep 
forth." 

But the subjects of divine grace cannot rest satis- 
fied without God. We see this in Job : "Oh that I 
knew where I might find him! Behold, I go for- 
ward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I can- 
not perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth 
work, but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself 
on the right hand, that I cannot see him." This 



May 8. — Morning. 245 

anxiety and restlessness to find him results from 
three things. Love — that longs to be near the object 
of attachment, and cannot endure separation. Con- 
viction — which tells him of God's infinite importance 
to his case, and of his own entire dependence upon 
him. I am sick, says he, and he is my only physi- 
cian ; I am a traveller, and he is my only guide. I 
have nothing ; he possesses all things. Experience — ■ 
he has tested that the Lord is gracious, and the relish 
of the enjoyment adds to the sense of want ; for that 
which indulges the appetite, provokes it also. Hence, 
though the believer does not desire more than God, he 
desires more of him. 

Well — this restlessness is a token for good. Henry 
says, u A Christian, like a bird, is always on the perch, 
or on the wing : he is always reposing in God, or in 
flight after him ; and the latter is as good an evidence 
of religion as the former : for delight is not only a part 
of complacency and affection, but also fear, complaint, 
desire — fear of losing the object — complaint of our 
enjoying so little of it — desire of attaining and feeling- 
more." 

Therefore be of good comfort: and if you ask, 
Where you are to look for him : Look for him in 
Christ, where he is reconciling the world to himself, 
in whom he is well pleased. Look for him in the 
promises: there you will find him, pledged in every 
readiness of power and compassion. Look for him in 
his ordinances : where two or three are gathered to- 
gether, there is He in the midst of them. And not 
only look for him in the temple, but in the closet: 
pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father 
who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Look 
for him in thy former experience. Call to remem- 



246 May 8. — Evening. 

brance thy song in the night. Can all your former 
views and feelings be a delusion ? Would he havo 
shewn you such things as these, and also have accepted 
an offering at your hands, if he had been minded to 
kill you ? 

And when you have found him whom you are 
looking for, fall at his feet, and ingenuously confess 
your unworthiness in causing him to withdraw from 
you. Do not complain of him: justify him ; but con- 
demn yourselves. And instead of thinking he has 
dealt hardly with you, wonder that he has not cast you 
off for ever, and be thankful that he has been found 
of you again. Again you have morning ; again you 
have spring: but the rising and shining of the sun has 
made it. " Thou hast turned for me my mourning 
into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and 
girded me with gladness ; to the end that my glory 
may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord 
my Grod, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." 
Cleave to him with purpose of heart. Besolve rather 
to die than again grieve his Holy Spirit. And not 
only watch, but pray, lest ye enter into temptation. 
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

MAY 8.— EVENING. 

"Even he shall bnild the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear 
the glory." Zech. vi. 13. 

We need not ask, of whom speaketh the prophet, 
when the words immediately preceding tell us that he 
is " the man whose name is the Branch," who should 
"grow up out of his place" — "He," says Zachariah, 
" shall build the temple of the Lord" — And to fix our 
attention to it the more, he repeats the sentiment with 



May 8. — Evening. 247 

a striking addition : " Even lie shall build the temple 
of the Lord ; and he shall bear the glorj^." Let us 
observe the temple ; the builder ; and the glory. 

The temple means the Church of God. The 
Scripture often holds it forth under this image. The 
allusion was peculiarly natural in a Jewish writer, 
considering the importance attached to the house of 
God in Jerusalem. The name is founded on three 
reasons. 

First, consecration. A temple is the place appro- 
priated to sacred uses. The people of God are sepa- 
rated from the world, and dedicated to his service — 
"The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for 
himself." This is done by his eternal purpose, and by 
effectual calling. The fprmer is realized and discovered 
in the latter, when they who were his by choice 
become his by surrender, each of them saying, "Lord, 
I am thine, save me. Lord, what wilt thou have me 
to do?" And they should remember that all they 
have, and all they are, is now the Lord's ; and that to 
take any thing pertaining to a temple is not only 
robbery but sacrilege. Let them think of this when 
they would use their time, their substance, or any of 
their talents, as their own, regardless of the will of 
God. Holiness becomes God's house for ever; and 
therefore it becomes them. Our Saviour was offended 
because they made his Father's house a house of mer- 
chandize, and drove out the buyers and sellers, and 
hallowed it for holy purposes.' And says Paul, "If 
any man defile the temple of God, him will God 
destroy ; for the temple of God is holy, which temple 
ye are." How vile and dreadful was it in Manasseh 
to take the image of Baal and place it in the temple, 
opposite the mercy-seat, the very throne of the God 



248 May 8.— Evening. - 

of Israel! Beware of profane mixtures. "What 
agreement hath the temple of God with, idols ?" 
Christians, maintain jour sacredness. Keep yourselves 
pure from all nithiness of flesh as well as spirit. 
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple 
of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of 
God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought 
with a price : therefore glorify God in your body, and 
in your spirit, which are God's." 

Secondly, residence. A mansion is a dwelling for 
a nobleman, a palace for a king, a temple for a God — 
and the Church is called the temple of the Lord, be- 
cause he occupies it : "Ye are the temple of the living 
God;" as God hath said, "I dwell in them, and walk 
in them." He is every where essentially, and it would 
be well for us always to remember that God seeth us : 
but he is in his Church by a special presence : and in 
a way of grace, and influence, and operation. This at 
once secures and dignifies it: "I will be a wall of fire 
round about her, and the glory in the midst of her.- r 
" This," says he, " is my rest for ever : here will I dwell ; 
for I have desired it." What are numbers, or fine 
buildings, or imposing ceremonies, to communion with 
the living God ? 

Thirdly, devotion. He is served and worshipped 
in them as a temple. And he receives homage and 
adoration nowhere else according to his own requisi- 
tion ; "God' is a Spirit: and they that worship him 
must worship him in spirit and in truth." His wor- 
ship therefore is a reasonable service. The offerings 
presented to him are not gross, but spiritual sacrifices. 
They are prayers, and praise, and alms, and a broken 
heart, and a contrite spirit : and though all these are 
imperfect and denied, they result from principle : they 



May 9. — Morning. 249 

aim at the glory of God; and being offered through 
the Mediator, and with his much incense, they are 
accepted in the Beloved, and the worshipper has the 
testimony that he pleases Grod. 

"Kemember me, O Lord, with the favour thou 
bearest unto thy people." 



MAY 9.— MORNING. 

"Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear 
the glory." Zech. yi. 13. 

"We have seen the building, let us turn to the 
builder; "Even he shall build the temple of the 
Lord." In another view he is the foundation; and 
the only foundation laid in Zion. No image can do 
him justice. The sacred writers therefore are reduced 
to three things — They strip images of all their imper- 
fections, and apply them to him in their complete 
state — They ascribe to these images properties which 
they do not naturally possess ; thus they speak of 
him as " a living stone ;" for 

' : Nature, to make his beauties known, 
Must mingle colours not her own." 

And — They join several of these images together: 
thus he is not only the way, but the leader in it : not 
only the physician, bat the remedy itself: not only 
the master of the feast, but the provision too : not 
only the foundation, but the builder also. 

But how is he the builder? He is the only one — 

" Neither is there salvation "in any other." Yet are 

not Christians required to build ? Does not Jude say. 

"Building up j^ourselves in your most holy faith?" 

11* 



250 May 9. — Mokxixg. 

But this is to remind us that we are not only subjects, 
but instruments in this work. He does not believe 
and repent — We are the believers and the penitents. 
But he makes us such : he works in us to will and to 
do; and though we are the boughs that bear "the 
fruits of righteousness," "in me," says the Lord, "is 
thy fruit found ;" and therefore it is called "the fruit 
of the Spirit." Are not Christians required to build 
up others ? Yes, says the Apostle, " edify one 
another;" and "seek to excel to the edifying of the 
Church." And of himself he saj^s, "As a wise mas- 
ter-builder, I have laid the foundation, and another 
buildeth thereon." But even ministers only build 
instrumentally. He employs them, and all their suc- 
cess is from him. Paul and Apollos are only minis- 
ters by whom we believe, even as the Lord gives to 
every man. They often begin too insensible of this, 
and are like Melancthon, who supposed, in his fervour, 
he should convert all who heard him : but they must 
learn — and cannot learn too soon, that it is not by 
might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. 
He builds this temple three ways. 

First, He purchases all the materials. These con- 
sist of believers. Other temples are built of lifeless 
substances, but this of living stones : and he procures 
them, and with no less a price than his own blood : 
"He gave his life a ransom for many." 

Secondly, He prepares them. The materials for 
building a common temple are not found fit, but made 
so : and Solomon probably in allusion to his own 
great undertaking says, "Prepare thy work without, 
and make it fit for thyself in the field ; and afterwards 
build thine house." The wood must be felled, and 
come under the operation of the axe, the saw, and the 



May 9. — Morning. 251 

plane. The stones must be dug out of the quarry, 
and hewn and polished : and we are commanded to 
"look to the rock whence we were hewn, and to the 
hole of the pit whence we were digged" — that is, to 
remember our condition by nature. But he does not 
leave us where he finds us, or what he finds us. He 
renews us in the spirit of our minds, and forms us a 
people for himself, to shew forth his praise. 

Thirdly, He unites them. He assigns them their 
proper places ; gives them one heart and one way ; 
and by " faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus," 
they are bound more firmly together than any human 
ties could attach them — The union is for ever — And 
the Saviour addressing his Father, says, "They are 
one even as we are one." 

The parts of a temple are different, but they are 
all necessary. The door cannot say to the window, 
or the wall to the roof, I have no need of thee. Some 
parts are more near, and some more remote; some 
more conspicuous, and some more concealed : but 
they all subserve their appointment ; they have all a 
relation to each other; and by their junction form 
one whole — "We are all one in Christ Jesus" — "in 
whom all the building fitly framed together groweth 
into an holy temple in the Lord." 

Art thou found, my soul, among those to whom 
the application can be made — "In whom ye are also 
builded together for an habitation of God through the 
Spirit" ? 



252 May 9.— Evening. 



MAY 9.— EVENING. 
"Eren he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear 

THE GLORY." ZeCH. TL 13. 

— It is supposed that a glory will result from the 
building ; and to whom can this glory belong but to 
the builder ? A man's works praise him in the gates. 
Some have immortalized themselves by military 
achievements ; some, by voyages of discovery ; some, 
by scientific improvements ; some, by the composition 
of a book ; and some, by the structure of an edifice 
■ — But what building ever redounded so much to the 
glory of the builder as this temple of the Lord ? It 
would be easy to prove, or rather to exemplify this. 

Observe the badness of the materials. The worse 
and the more unsuitable these are, the more praise is 
due to the workman that bends them completely to 
his purpose. But there never were such materials as 
this builder had to work upon : so that it was neces- 
sary to change, not their form only, but their very 
nature; and, from earthly, sensual, and devilish, to 
make them heavenly and divine. 

Then see the excellency of the workmanship — 
" His work is perfect." The more we examine an 
instance of human agency, the less admiration we feel. 
We can generally, by examination, soon perceive 
some superfluity or deficiency; some possibility of 
alteration for the better; or at least we find the 
whole is within our grasp, and the extent of the art 
can be comprehended. But when we turn to the 
Lord's doing, this is marvellous in our eyes, Id pro- 
portion as we explore it. By every research we seem 
to detect fresh indications of design ; we feel ourselves 



May 9.— Evening. 253 

always on the verge of the infinite; we exclaim, 
" This is the finger of God." So it is with all his 
works — He doth all things well : but he hath magni- 
fied his word above all his Name ; and in the salva- 
tion of his people he excelleth in glory. 

Look at the magnitude of the work. A work is 
sometimes estimated by the length of time employed 
in the execution of it. Forty and six years, said the 
Jews, was this temple in building: but here the struc- 
ture has been going on for near six thousand years, 
and is far from being accomplished yet. A work is 
estimated by the number of workmen engaged ; and 
the abundance of scaffolding required. Here millions 
of hands have been cordially employed, and countless 
multitudes also, who. will derive no advantage from 
it. Scholars, merchants, kings, heroes, tyrants, have 
laboured for this cause, without knowing it: and the 
world itself, as soon as the work is finished, will be 
removed and burnt up. The estimate is also taken 
from the duration. Man's work, like himself, is perish- 
ing. Solomon's temple was burnt by the Chaldeans, and 
Zerubbabel's temple by the Komans ; and not a frag- 
ment remained a few ages only after their erection. 
But, says the Saviour, " Upon this rock will I build 
my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it." The defections of heretics and the aposta- 
cies of professors do not affect it : " the foundation of 
God standeth sure." The most remarkable structures 
for permanence are the pyramids of Egypt ; but 
though it is probable they may reach the last day, 
they must then fall in the wreck of all things. But 
from the ruins of sin he has made his people an eternal 
excellency, the joy of many generations. 

And how glorious to himself is the manner in which 



25-i May 9. — Evening. 

he carries it forward to its completion! Difficulties 
insuperable to man attend every part of the work. 
It is opposed by all the powers of darkness. But 
their attempts only serve to display the Saviour's 
wisdom and power. Nothing is too hard for him. 
He is not driven from his post ; he is not compelled 
to pause. He will accomplish the plan precisely ac- 
pording to the design, and to a moment of the time 
appointed. The angels will not pass by the partially 
erected edifice and say, He began to build, but was 
not able to finish—" The hands of Zerubbabel have 
laid the foundation of the house ; his hands shall also 
finish it. Who art thou, O great mountain? before 
Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain : and he shall 
bring forth the head stone thereof with shouting — 
Grace, grace unto it!" 

Such is the determination of God — " even he shall 
build the temple of the Lord, and — he shall bear the 
glory." Every thing in the economy of salvation 
therefore is so arranged, that he who glories must 
glory in the Lord. Therefore every sentiment in- 
compatible with this, is an erroneous sentiment ; and 
every disposition adverse to this, is an, unrighteous 
disposition. And in the minds of his people the 
proud looks are humbled, and the lofty looks laid 
low ; and the Lord alone is. exalted. They now readily 
exclaim, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to 
thy Name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's 
sake." How much more will this be the case, when 
he will come to be glorified in his saints, and admired 
in all them that believe ! — when they will cast their 
crowns before the Throne ; and it will be their busi- 
ness and their delight to exclaim, "To him that loved 
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. 



May 10. — Morning. 255 

and hath, made us kings and priests unto God and his 
Father ; to him be glory and dominion for ever and 
ever. Amen." 

" may I bear some humble part 
In that immortal song ; 
Wonder and joy shall tune my heart, 
And love command my tongue." 



MAY 10.— MORNING. 

"So Daniel -was taken up out of the den, and no manner 
of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God." 
Dan. vi. 23. 

His case at first seemed very hard to flesh and 
blood. But here we_ see the end of the Lord. All 
was so overruled, that Daniel had no reason to repent 
of his conduct, or to lament the result of it. It is 
true, the God he served continually did not preserve 
him from the den of lions: but he delivered him out 
of it. He could have made a way for his escape ; 
but the prevention of the trial would not have been 
half so impressive and useful as the issue. What a 
night did he pass there ! What hours were they of 
prayer and praise! of peace and joy! What re- 
flections did he make upon the power and goodness 
of his God — while the hungry lions, and they had 
been prepared to devour, looked on, and snuffed his 
flesh, but felt an invisible Eestrainer, who said, Touch 
not mine anointed, and do my prophet no harm ! 
How would he resolve to confide in him, and confess 
him, and serve him in future! How would the multi- 
tude be impressed! Those who doubted would be 
convinced. The timid would be emboldened. Many 
proselytes would be made to the religion of Daniel 



256 May 10.— Morning. 

— while the king said, "I make a decree, That in 
every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and 
fear before the God of Daniel ; for he is the living- 
God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that 
which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall 
be- even nnto the end. He delivereth and reseueth, 
and he worketk signs and wonders in heaven and in 
earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of 
the lions." 

How much, therefore, did his steadfastness conduce 
to the glory of God, and the advancement of his 
cause! Christians never honour God more than in 
the fires. When they suffer like themselves ; when 
they are witnesses for God ; when they show that his 
service is too dear to be forsaken, and that they are 
willing to follow him to prison, or to death ; and that 
the religion they more than profess, enables them to 
glory in tribulation also — then, men see that there 
is a reality in it — a vital — a blessed reality; and that 
the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour. 

But the result equally terminated in Daniel's own 
honour and welfare. When taken up, how would 
every eye be drawn towards him! How breathless 
would be their gaze ! How would every tongue extol 
him ! With what shoutings would they follow him 
home ! — When they met him, how ready would 
every man be to say, There is the man who would 
rather enter a den of hungry lions than violate his 
conscience, or sin against his God! What influence 
would be attached to his character ! what weight to 
his advice and counsel ! — A good name is rather to be 
chosen than great riches. His reputation is perfected. 
His attainder is revoked. He is restored. He is pro- 
moted by his sovereign to a higher station. 



May 10.— Evening. 257 

— And who would not have done what Darius did? 
lie who had been faithful to his God was more likely 
to be faithful to his king. This is, indeed, one of the 
ways in which godliness naturally conduces to a man's 
present advantage. It gains him confidence : and this 
is the lever of elevation. Consfcantius, the father of 
Constantine the Great, while as yet this prince was a 
heathen, wished to know the character of those about 
him. He, therefore, called together before him all the 
chiefs in his suite, and ordered them to offer sacrifices 
to his gods, on pain of being deprived of all their 
honours and functions. The trial was severe. Many 
sunk under it. ■ They could not give up every thing 
that was dear and valuable. But some were inflexi- 
ble. They had bought the truth, and they would not 
sell it for any price. Whatever they suffered, they 
were resolved to have a conscience void of offence. 
What happened? Those who basely complied, he 
drove from his presence ; while those who nobly re- 
fused, he entrusted with the care of his person, and 
placed them in the most important offices — saying, On 
these men I can depend — I prize them more than all 
my treasures. And we know who hath said, Them 
that honour me I will honour ; but they that despise 
me shall be lightly esteemed. 

MAY 10.— EVENING. 

"And the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of 
Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had 
straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit 
you ; and ye shall carry up nay bones away hence with you." 

Exod. xiii. 18, 19. 

Here are two circumstances not to be overlooked, 
because God has deemed them worthy of record. 



258 May 10.— Evening. 

The first is not easily understood from the present 
version. It is said, They went up out of Egypt har- 
nessed. The word harness, when the Bible was trans- 
lated, signified not the furniture of a horse, but of a 
soldier — or armour ; and this is the first sense the term 
bears in the dictionary : and, to check the presumption 
of a warrior, it was once said, " Let not him that put- 
teth on the harness boast himself like him that putteth 
it off." The translators therefore meant to say, that 
they went out armed. Yet this is not at all probable. 
Such a jealous tyrant as Pharaoh would, by his spies, 
have prevented the Israelites from manufacturing, or 
purchasing, or hoarding up, weapons. We find in 
after times, when the Philistines held the Jews in sub- 
jection, they would not allow a smith to live in the 
country, and only permitted them to sharpen their 
agricultural implements at particular places. "But 
they had arms in the wilderness, when they fought 
Amalek and others." Yes; they had carried away a 
few weapons concealed, and made others out of the 
materials they had with them ; and, above all, they 
furnished themselves from the spoils of Pharaoh's 
army thrown on shore — But they were now only going- 
out from Egypt. The margin is, they marched "five 
in a rank" — But this would have extended the train 
to an immense length. Others, therefore, have ren- 
dered it, "in five squadrons." But all the meaning 
seems to be — that they moved out — not armed — but 
in soldier-like order ; as regularly organized and slowly 
as disciplined troops — and not like a rude rabble, or a 
huddled jostling multitude. It shews that they did 
not go out by u haste or by flight," And this is very 
remarkable, considering their numbers, and the quality 
of the people, and how natural it was for those behind 



May 10.— Evening. 259 

to dread lest their task-masters should overtake them, 



and therefore to press forward and incommode those 
that were before. But there was nothing of this : 
they moved with such steadiness and stillness, that 
"against none of them did a dog move his tongue." 
We are also informed, that " there was not found one 
feeble among them." Indeed, they had enough to do 
to take care of themselves and their goods, without 
being encumbered with invalids. Yet did ever such 
an immense multitude leave a place before, without 
one individual unable to follow ? It was the Lord's 
doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. 

The other circumstance in this march regards "the 
bones of Joseph, which Moses took with them." This 
rendered it a kind of % funeral procession, and such as 
no other history relates. Much people of Nam fol- 
lowed the bier of the widow's son ; but Joseph's 
corpse was accompanied with every man, woman, and 
child, of a whole nation. There is generally some 
time between death and interment, though in warm 
climates this is very short : here was an interval of 
near two hundred years. Other bodies may have 
been carried as far, but were never so long in their 
conveyance to the grave — for here forty years were 
taken up in bearing Joseph to his burial. 

We read at the death of Joseph, that " they em- 
balmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt;" 
and when we consider that he was the prime minister 
and the saviour of his country, and the most popular 
man in the realm, we may be assured that this was 
done in a manner the most perfect and sumptuous. 
The descendants of his own family would be likely to 
have the care of this precious deposit ; and they would 
feel a peculiar veneration for it — But it was dear to 



260 May 10.— Evening. 

all ; and useful to all. It was a memento of the vanity 
of all human greatness. Joseph had risen in life to an 
unexampled degree of eminence. But what ? where ? 
now is the governor and idol of Egypt? Mummied 
within those few inches of board ! It was also a moral, 
as well as a mortal, memento. Joseph was a very 
pious character : he had been highly exemplary in every 
relation and condition of life ; and much of God, of 
providence, and of grace, was to be read in his history 
— TThat an advantage to be always reminded of such 
a man. in having his remains always in the midst of 
them ! But the body would be, above all. valuable, 
as a pledge of their future destination. It was a pre- 
sent palpable sign of God's covenant with their fathers, 
on their behalf. 

For observe how they came in possession of this 
treasure. - ~ 

It was according to the dying wish and prophecy 
of Joseph: u For he had straitly charged the children 
of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you ; and ye 
shall carry up my bones away hence with you.' ? His 
charge did not arise from a superstitious principle, as 
if it were better or safer to moulder in one place than 
another. Xor even from a principle of natural and 
relative affectiom — This feeling, indeed, is often strong, 
and the wish of persons to lie with their kindred 
seems to grow with the decline of life. How affec- 
tionately does Jacob express this sentiment, when 
dying! ;; I am to be gathered unto my people : burv 
me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of 
Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of 
Macpelah. which is before Mamre. in the land of 
Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of 
Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. 



May 10.— Evening. 261 

There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ; there 
they buried Isaac and Kebekah his wife ; and there I 
buried Leah." This, however, was more than the 
language of Nature in the father — and so it was in the 
son. The Apostle tells us, " By faith Joseph, when 
he died, made mention of the departing of the children 
of Israel ; and gave commandment concerning his 
bones." If he did it by faith, his faith must have 
had a Divine warrant. This was the promise of a 
God that cannot lie, that he would give Canaan for a 
possession to the seed of Abraham. 

"And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that 
thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not 
theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict 
them four hundred years ; and also that nation, whom 
they shall serve,, will I judge: and afterward they 
shall come out with great substance." And this was, 
at the very time, ratified by a solemn covenant. 
Joseph knew of this engagement, and believed it ; 
and though the time was remote, and the difficulties 
in the accomplishment many, like a true son of Abra- 
ham, he staggered not at the promise of God, through 
unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. 
This raised him above the treasures of Egypt ; this 
kept him from naturalizing there amidst all his pros- 
perity — there he was only a stranger and a sojourner 
— another nation was his people — another land was 
his home. And therefore, instead of being entombed 
in an Egyptian pyramid, he ordered his body to be 
taken immediately to Goshen, and kept by them till 
they should go as a body to possess their inheritance, 
and then bury him with his fathers. 

And behold the fulfilment ! Enslaved as they were, 
they are delivered. Their enemies perish. They live 



262 May 11.— Morning. 

by miracle for forty years in the "Wilderness. The 
Jordan is crossed. Canaan is taken — and, says the 
conqueror to the people he had led to victory, u Be- 
hold, this day I am going the way of all the earth ; 
and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, 
that not one thing hath failed of all the good things 
which the Lord your God spake concerning you ; all 
are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath 
failed thereof." " So Joshua made a covenant with 
the people that day, and set them a statute and an 
ordinance in Shechem." What more ? "And the 
bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought 
up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel 
of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor 
the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver : 
and it became the inheritance of the children of 
Joseph." Here we leave his hallowed remains till the 
resurrection of the just ; inscribing over his sepulchre 
— A Memorial of the Faithfulness of God. 



MAY 11.— MORNING. 

"The lame man which was healed held Peter and John." 

AcTsiii. 11. 

How perfectly natural and picturesque are the nar- 
ratives of the Bible ! They serve at once to vouch 
for the truth of their statements, and to leave their 
representations fixed in the memory. 

The circumstance here mentioned is too simple, 
striking, and touching, to be overlooked. The poor 
man had been lame from his mother's womb, and was 
placed daily at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, to 
ask alms of the worshippers. Silver and. gold Peter 



May 11.— Morning. 263 

and John had none. But they gave him something 
far better. In the name of the Lord Jesus, said they, 
rise up, and walk. And immediately his feet and 
ankle-bones received strength. And he, leaping up — 
stood — and walked — and entered with them into the 
temple— walking — and leaping — and praising God. 
The people, also, seeing what was done, hastened to 
Solomon's porch, greatly wondering. But the man 
that was healed — held Peter and John. 

Was this the effect of apprehension ? Did he ima- 
gine their influence was confined to their bodily pre- 
sence ? and that if he let them go his lameness would 
return ? 

Or did it result from a wish to point them out to 
the multitude ? "Are you looking after the wonderful 
men who have made me whole?" — "Here," says he, 
eager and proud to proclaim them; "Here they are 
— These are they." 

Was it not still more the expression of his attach- 
ment? "O my deliverers and benefactors, let me 
attend upon you. Let me enjoy the happiness to 
serve you. Entreat me not to leave you, nor to 
return from following after you. Let me live, let me 
die, with you. " 

— So it is in our spiritual cures. It is natural to 
feel a regard for those who have been the means of 
our recovery ; and to keep hold of them. But let us 
remember, we may hold them too closely. And we 
do so, if we suffer them to draw us away from the God 
of all grace. For, whoever are the instruments of 
doing us good, He is the agent ; and he will have us 
to remember, that the excellency of the power is of 
him, and not of them. Hence the reproof — "For 
while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am -of 



264 May 11.— Evening. 

Apollos ; are ye not carnal ? Who then is Paul, and 
who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, 
even as the Lord gave to every man ? I have planted, 
Apollos watered ; but God gave the increase. So 
then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he 
that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 
They are something in the order of means, and a pro- 
per respect is due to them in this character ; but they 
are nothing as to efficiency : success is entirely from 
God ; and his glory will he not give to another. To 
idolize a minister is the way to have him removed 
from us, or rendered unprofitable to us — "Not by 
might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the 
Lord of hosts." We can never honour God so much 
as by dependence upon him. And them that honour 
him he will honour ; and they that despise him shall 
be lightly esteemed. 

MAY 11.— EVENING. 
" I have learned by experience." Gen. xxx. 27. 

Theee is no spiritual meaning in these words. 
They are only the language of Laban acknowledging- 
the benefit he had derived under God — for even he 
could talk piously — from his son-in-law Jacob; " The 
Lord hath blessed me for thy sake." But the way in 
which he says he had learned this — "I have learned 
by experience," will apply to a Christian in speaking 
of his acquaintance with divine things ; and affords 
us an occasion to notice a very interesting subject. 

Experiments are processes of trial, to determine 
something not sufficiently known or admitted. Ex- 
perience is the knowledge derived from the trial ; and 
this knowledge is very distinguishable from mere 



May 11. — Evening. 265 

report or opinion. A medicine is announced as a 
specific for some malady ; but when I have taken it, 
and have been cured by it, I have learned the excel- 
lency and efficacy of it by experience. Much of the 
philosophy of former times was little better than 
learned affectation. The vouchers of it were not will- 
ing to own their ignorance, and place themselves 
upon a level with the vulgar, and so they conjectured 
and theorized ; but their hypotheses could not abide 
the test. Of late years a wiser course, recommended 
by Bacon, has been pursued, and people have been 
taught to found science on fact, to reason from induc- 
tions, and to take nothing for truth without trial. 

Now this is what we wish with regard to the 
noblest of all subjects. Why cannot religion be 
tried? Why cannot prophecy be compared with 
events ? Why cannot miracles be examined by any 
given standard of evidence ? Why cannot we take 
what the Scripture says of the state of human nature, 
and go into the world and see whether it is borne out 
by history and observation ? Yes, says the Christian, 
the wickedness and deceitfulness of the heart is not a 
notion with me — I have learned it by experience in 
my unthankfulness under mercies, incorrigibleness 
under corrections, unprofitableness under ordinances, 
and failures and treachery under vows and professions. 
I know that there is such a Saviour as the Gospel pro- 
claims, for I have made application to him, and I 
have proof of his ability, suitableness and willingness 
to save in my own salvation — "He that believeth 
hath the witness in himself." The Word says, " He 
that walketh uprightly walketh surely," and I have 
learned this by experience. I have always suffered 
when I have turned aside to crooked and selfish 

12 



266 May 11.— Evening. 

policy ; but I never had reason to repent when I have 
acted in simplicity and godly sincerity, and been will- 
ing to deny myself for the Lord's sake. In the same 
way I can attest the influence and usefulness of prayer 
— It has calmed my fears— it has revived me in the 
midst of trouble — I have learned by experience that 
it is good for me to draw near to God. 

And verily this is the best wa} 7 in which we can 
become acquainted with divine truth. Our knowledge 
of it without this will be mere speculation. "We read 
of "a form of knowledge" as well as " a form of god- 
liness :" and what is the value of the one more than 
of the other, without "the power thereof?" The 
knowledge of some things is injurious rather than use- 
ful without it. When persons take up the sovereignty 
of God from a mere doctrinal system, we commonly 
find them heady, and contentious, and censorious : 
but when they learn it from experience, and are con- 
strained to own that by his grace they are what they 
are, he having begun with them, instead of their be- 
ginning with him, it makes them humble, and grate- 
ful, and candid, and tender. 

It is " a good thing for the heart to be established 
with grace ;" and this mode of learning confirms the 
judgment, and renders a man safe against error. He 
is not to be ridiculed or reasoned out of his conviction. 
In vain would any one tell you, if you have tasted 
them, that gall is not bitter, or honey sweet. 

The heart also, as Solomon remarks, teacheth the 
lips, and we derive a great advantage from experience 
in dealing with others. We shall be able to speak 
with more confidence, and more earnestness, and more 
feeling ; because we do not deal in untried advantages, 
but declare that which we have seen, and heard, and 






May 11. — Evening. 267 

handled of the Word of life. "Lo this, we have 
searched it, so it is ; hear it, and know thou it for thy 
good." It is thus we gain the tongue of the learned, 
and know how to speak a word in season to him that 
is weary. It is thus we can comfort others with those 
comforts wherewith we ourselves are comforted of 
God. 

Christians therefore should study their experience. 
It is one of their best books ; and as to some of them 
it has become now no inconsiderable volume. They 
should remember how differently things have fre- 
quently appeared in prospect, and in review. They 
should observe how differently they have felt and 
acted in various periods and conditions of life: 
especially they should- examine what were the work- 
ings of their hearts under those afflictive dispensations 
which are called trials, because intended to be moral 
probations. 

It is natural that Christians should communicate of 
their experience. Out of the abundance of the heart 
the mouth speaketh. Here indeed wisdom is profit- 
able to direct. We are not to give that which is 
holy to the dogs; neither should we cast our pearls 
before swine. In a general way, it will be proper to 
follow the example of David, who said ; " Come unto 
me, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he 
hath done for my soul " — They alone can understand 
and relish the communication. And with regard to 
them, we are not to speak without distinction. We 
are not to bring forward the deep things of God to 
those who cannot bear them now. Neither should 
we dismay the timid and doubting, by displaying 
before them our confidence and ecstasies. We may 
talk with some of the eighth of the Eomans, but with 



268 May 12.— Morning. 

others we must quote out of the seventh. It will often 
be better to talk of divine things at large without 
referring to our own experience. And we must always 
remember that we had better never speak of our ex- 
perience at all, unless it be accompanied with suitable 
practice: for it is always of the nature of personal 
evidence, and therefore will only affect the hearers in 
proportion as they confide in us. 



MAY 12.— MORNING. 

"And sent, messengers before his face: and they went, and entered 
into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. And they 
did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to 
Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they 
said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven 
and consume them, even as Elias did ? But he turned and rebuked 
them, and said, ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For 
the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." 

Luke ix. 52 — 56. 

Why did our Saviour send a message to " make 
ready for him ?" It could not be from a principle of 
self-indulgence — he had blamed Martha for her too 
much serving when she entertained him. Neither 
was it for the purpose of show and ostentation. But 
it was from a motive of civility — not wishing to put 
them to trouble and confusion by his sudden arrival, 
especially as he travelled not alone, but with his dis- 
ciples, and probably others ; and also, as he purposed 
paying for the accommodation he ordered — it was to 
try their dispositions. Accordingly they were imme- 
diately discovered. 

But why "would they not receive him?" There 
had always been an implacable aversion between them 



May 12.— Morning. 269 

and the Jews. It appeared on all occasions, and even 
hindered, as we find in the answer of the woman at the 
well, the common offices of civil life. Bnt to this or- 
dinary dislike, something peculiar was here added. 
They knew that our Lord was a public teacher, and 
had heard of his miracles ; but his services had been 
with their enemies. They also had their temple and 
their festivals, which were held at the same time with 
those of the Jews : and one of these was at hand. But 
they saw he was bound, not to Mount Grerizim, but to 
Mount Zion — Therefore " they did not receive him, be- 
cause his face was as though he would go to Jerusa- 
lem." 

Not far from this very place Elijah, had punished 
Azariah's captains and companies, sent to take him- 
John and James therefore ask, "Lord, wilt thou that 
we command fire to come down from heaven to con- 
sume them even as Elias did?" The very infirmities 
of good men are peculiar ; they are the spots of God's 
children. Here was something excusable : yea, even 
commendable. Such was their acquaintance with Scrip- 
ture — their applying to our Lord for his permission 
and approbation — their faith, and confidence in his 
power, that if He willed the thing, it must take place 
— and their attachment to him : for they could not bear 
to see one so dear to them insulted, in being refused 
the common rights of strangers. But evil blended 
with the good. Their zeal was not according to know- 
ledge. The punishment was also extreme : for though 
the people had shewn their rudeness and prejudices, 
they had not offered them violence : yet they must be 
destroyed, and sent down quick into hell in their sins — 
and all of them — -though some might have been far 
less blamable than others. The cases, too, were not 



270 May 12.— Morning. 

parallel. Elias had a call — the very impulse in him 
was supernatural, and was justified by the event: for 
fire from heaven would not have obeyed the dictate 
of private passion. He acted from a regard to the 
glory of God, and the welfare of Israel — But these 
men had no call, and were urged on by their own feel- 
ings- 
He therefore rebukes them — " Ye know not what 
manner of spirit ye are of." They little suspected 
how much their own tempers had to do in the propo- 
sal. When the Gadarenes besought him to depart out 
of their coasts ; and when the Nazarenes took him to 
the brow of the hill to cast him down ; these disciples 
did not call for such vengeance then — No : they were 
Jews — but these offenders are Samaritans. How in- 
sensibly does something of our selfish and carnal feel- 
ings creep in and assume a religious pretension ! None 
of our passions j ustify themselves so much as anger; 
we think we do well to be angry — but the wrath of 
man worketh not the righteousness of God. We may 
offer strange fire on God's own altar; but it is not 
thereby sanctified. The Author of Peace and Lover 
of Concord requires us to " shew out of a good conver- 
sation our works with meekness of wisdom. And the 
fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that 
make peace." 

How much does it become us to study our own 
spirits, and watch over the springs of our actions ! A 
Jehu may say, " Come, see my zeal for the Lord," 
when he was only removing God's enemies to clear 
his own way to the throne. What do some mean by 
dealing faithfully, as they call it, with others, but in- 
dulging their dislike and insolence ? Some professors 
of religion never reprove their servants and children, 



May 12. — Evening. 271 

but in fretfulness and illhumour ; and then their temper 
is discharged in a kind of spiritual scolding. Who can 
understand his errors? "Search me, God, and 
know my heart ; try me and know my thoughts : and 
see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in 
the way everlasting." 

Our Lord knew James and John better than they 
knew themselves ; and, in further reproof, he refers 
to himself as their example : For the Son of man is 
not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." 
He came indeed to seek and to save the soul princi- 
pally : but he did not overlook the body. He healed 
the diseased. He fed the hungry. And he has 
taught us to be merciful to the temporal wants of our 
fellow-creatures. And, even in carrying on his own pe- 
culiar cause, and endeavouring to promote the religion 
of the Bible, he allows us not to employ force ; or to 
impoverish, or imprison, or in any way persecute. The 
weapons of his warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. 
My kingdom, said he, is not of this world : else would 
my servants fight— Indeed they would. Yea, they 
have fought. Men — women — children have fought. 
They have fought with more than the courage of he- 
roes. They have prayed; and lived ; and taugfit; and 
wept ; and bled ; and died ! 

MAY 12.— EVENING. 

"Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." 

Psalm xvdi. 5. 

Eeligion is principally an intercourse maintained 
between Grod and us. And in the thought of it there 
is something very wonderful and striking. When we 
consider his greatness and glory, and our vanity and 



272 May 12.— Evening, 

vileness, we are led to exclaim, "Lord, what is man 
that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that 
thou visitest him?" But so it is — And as he visits us, 
so he allows us to visit him — and while he addresses 
us, Ave address him — He addresses us in his word, and 
we address him in prayer. 

How much they lose who are strangers to this duty, 
this privilege ! It is our light in darkness : our solace 
in affliction ; our sanctiflcation in prosperity. We 
cannot be wise, or happy, or even safe, without it. 
Let me observe David and learn to pray as he prayed. 
"Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps 
slip not." 

First, See his course. He speaks of his "goings." 
Eeligion does not allow a man to sit still. Under the 
influence of it he believes, knows, feels, speaks : but 
all these are vain unless they result in practice — unless 
he is, so to speak, set a going — unless he says, with 
David, " I will walk in thy truth." To walk is to be 
active and advancing. It stands for the whole of our 
conduct ; and upon this it is that the Scripture lays 
such stress, requiring us as we have received Christ 
Jesus the Lord so to walk in him; and to walk worthy 
the vocation wherewith we are called. 

He speaks of his goings "in God's paths." These 
are threefold. — The path of his commands. " O let me 
not wander from thy commandments." "Make me 
to go in the path of thy commandments ; for therein 
do I delight." His commands are to be found in his 
word. Faith in Christ is one of them, and necessary 
to our obeying all the rest ; for "this is his command- 
ment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus 
Christ." — The path of his ordinances. Pious minds 
alive to the authority of God who has appointed them, 



May 12.— Evening. 273 

and believing the promise that they who wait upon 
the Lord shall renew their strength, and feeling their 
need of spiritual supplies and succour, can never 
neglect the means of grace. They will value retire- 
ment for reading the Scriptures, and mediation, and 
prayer. They will love the conversation of the godly. 
As they have opportunity, they will repair to the 
sanctuary, and join in the solemn assemblies in public 
devotion, and in hearing the word preached, and in 
surrounding the table of the Lord. Others may indeed 
occasionally or even frequently attend upon religious 
institutions, but not as spiritual worshippers who use 
them as mediums of communion with God, and chan- 
nels of communication from him. — The path of his 
dispensations. Nothing in our condition happens by 
chance. All events are the movements of his provi- 
dence : and where others disregard them or view them 
only in connexion with creatures — for Grod is not in 
all their thoughts — believers acknowledge him in their 
connexions, their losses, their gains, their comforts, 
and their trials. Thus Job said, "The Lord gave and 
the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the 
Lord." And David says, "I will sing of mercy and 
of judgment ; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing." Such 
was his course. Observe, 

Secondly, his concekn respecting this course — 
" Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps 
slip not." It is the language of conviction. He knew 
the injury that would result from a fall or even a slip 
in religion — How it would dishonour Grod, cause the 
way of truth to be evil spoken of, harden the wicked, 
scandalize the weak, distress the strong, injure his own 
usefulness and peace, and bring upon himself those 
trials by which his wickedness should correct him, and 
12* 



274 May 12,— Evening. 

his backslidings reprove him. It is the language of 
apprehension. He knew his footsteps were prone to 
slide. How can a man be ignorant of this who reflects 
on the malice and poAver of his adversary the devil, 
and the allurements of the world, and the corruption 
of his nature; and has seen the errors and falls of 
others far superior to himself? It is well to be sensible 
of our danger; and it is only grace that can enable us 
to say' — 

"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 
Prone to leave the God I love — " 

It is the language of weakness. He knew not only 
his exposure, but his inability to help himself. This 
a Christian learns not only from faith in the testimony 
of the word which everywhere assures us that we are 
without strength in ourselves, but from experience 
also. He sees how little he can depend upon his per- 
suasions however clear, and his resolutions however 
firm — How .often have they given way, and filled him 
not only with grief but astonishment ! Year after year 
has told him that he who trusts in his own heart is a 
fool ; and that he is not wise who trusts in his own 
grace — It is not thy grace, says the Saviour, but my 
grace that is sufficient for thee. It is the language of 
confidence. He hopes in Grod while he renounces al! 
self-dependence. The one is as necessary as the other. 
And it is as well founded. Oh that we could keep 
them equally balanced in the mind — That while we 
avoid presumption, we may also avoid despondency — 
That while we are humble we may also be cheerful — ■ 
That while we are cautious we may also be courageous ; 
knowing that while we cannot stand of ourselves, he 
is able to keep us from falling, and has said, I will 



May 13. — Morning. 275 

never leave thee nor forsake thee : so that we may 
boldly say, The Lord is my keeper, I will not feai — 
Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. 



MAY 13.— MORNING. 

" I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

Rom. vii. 25. 

The experience of the Christian while in this world 
is of a mixed nature. It resembles the day spoken of 
by Zechariah; which was neither dark nor clear. 
Whatever advantages he attains at present, there is 
always enough to tell him that this is not his rest. 
Yet, under all his complaints, he has reason to take 
courage and be thankful. So it was with Paul. For 
these words are to be taken in connexion with his 
language in the preceding verse; where he groans, 
being burdened with the remains of indwelling sin ; 
"O wretched man that lam! who shall deliver me 
from the body of this death ? I thank God through 
Jesus Christ our Lord." 

— Yes ; even in the midst of such an experience as 
this, there is a fourfold ground of thankfulness. The 
Christian may say — First, I thank God, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord, that my corruption is my complaint. 
Once it was not so with me — neither is it so with many 
now. They drink m iniquity as the ox drinketh in 
water. It is their element ; but it is not mine. They 
roll it as a sweet morsel under their tongue: but I 
have been made to know that it is an evil thing and 
bitter, I loathe it, and abhor myself for it, repenting 
in dust and ashes. The heart of stone has been taken 



276 May IS. — Morning. 

away,. and I have a heart of flesh; a heart affected not 
only with the guilt but the pollution and the vileness 
of sin. I have nothing to boast of; every view I take 
of myself is humbling — but my desire is before him, 
and my groaning is not hid from him. And the weary 
and heavy-laden are invited to come to the Saviour 
for rest. 

Secondly, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord, that though I am in the conflict, I am not con- 
quered. Though yet alive, the enemy is dethroned. 
Though it rages, it does not reign. It threatens to 
resume its ascendency, and has sometimes alarmed 
my fears — I have said, I shall one day perish; but 
having obtained help of God, I continue to this day; 
faint, yet, pursuing — and feeling no disposition to turn 
back. 

Thirdly, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord, that deliverance is sure. 

" "What though my inbred lusts rebel, 
'Tis but a struggling gasp for life ; 
The weapons of victorious grace 

Shall slay my sins, and end the strife." 

The victory in this case may be inferred from the 
reality of the conflict. It is as certain as the word of 
God can render it. The result is left to no precarious- 
ness, but secured in the everlasting Covenant. He 
who made his soul a sacrifice for sin, shall see his 
seed, and be glorified in them. Their help is laid on 
One that is mighty. His blood cleanseth from all sin. 
His righteousness justifies the ungodly. His grace 
is sufficient for the most weak and exposed — They 
shall never perish ; neither shall any pluck them out 
of his hand. And they may anticipate the conse- 






May 13. — Evening. 277 

quence; and rejoicing in a hope that maketh not 
ashamed, say, I know whom I have believed, and am 
persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have 
committed to him against that day. Yea, 

Finally, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord, that the deliverance is near. "Were it remote, 
I ought to wait for it with patience. Others wait. 
The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the 
earth, and hath long patience until he receive the 
early and the latter rain. But it will not tarry. If 
life be short, the conflict cannot be long. Soon the 
warfare must be accomplished. Soon the enemies I 
have seen to-day, I shall see no more for ever. My 
salvation is nearer than when I believed. The night 
is far spent. The day is at hand — 

" Though painful at present, 

'Twill cease before long ; 

And then, O how pleasant 

The Conqueror's song!" 



MAY 13.— EVENING. 

" Behold my hands and my feet." Luke xxiv. 39. 

His sufferings and death were not only wonderful, 
but all-important: and "he shewed them his hands 
and his feet;" because these contained the effects and 
proofs of them. The wounds were indeed now closed, 
and this was as miraculous as his resurrection itself: 
for the parts had been so lacerated and torn by the 
large nails that fastened him to the cross and sus- 
tained the whole weight of his body, that many weeks 
would have been required to heal them naturally. 
But the marks remained, arid fully ascertained him to 



278 May 13.— Evening. 

be the sufferer who died on the cross. All the dis- 
ciples now present saw them ; and Thomas who was 
absent saw them a few days after, and was no longer 
faithless, but believing. And these signs of his pas- 
sion our Lord retained, not only after his resurrection, 
but also after his ascension. John, in his visions, saw 
an image of him, " as a lamb that had been slain ;" 
that is, the lamb appeared with the neck gashed, and 
the wool stained. He ever liveth to make intercession 
for us, and is our advocate with the Father, by pre- 
senting his humanity and pleading the sacrifice he 
offered on earth : for he entered into the holy place, 
there to appear in the presence of Grod for us, not 
with the blood of bulls and of goats, but with his own 
blood, the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better 
things than that of Abel. The Father beholds his 
hands and his feet, and is well pleased for his righte- 
ousness' sake, and says, "Ask of me now, and I shall 
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the 
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." The 
angels behold them, and though he has not saved 
them, they know that he has saved us, and their 
benevolence leads them to exclaim with a loud voice, 
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, 
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, 
and glory, and blessing." The saints behold them, 
and sing "a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to 
take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for 
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy 
blood oat of every kindred, and tongue, and people, 
and nation." 

Christians, to this same sight you are hastening; 
for yet a little while, and you will be like him, for 
you shall see him as he is. But you have no reason 



May lo. — Evening. 279 

to look for such a real and sensible sight of him here. 
Some indeed seem persuaded that they have actually 
seen him; but their mistake obviously appears from 
the manner of the sight. He could render himself 
corporeally visible ; but if he did this, he would give 
us a true representation of himself. These good 
people have always seen him upon the cross ; but he 
is now in his glory. If he shewed himself at this 
moment, we should not see his hands and feet bleed- 
ing ; but his body would be a glorious body, as Saul 
of Tarsus saw it, and shining above the brightness of 
the sun. The case seems to be this. These persons, 
of lively apprehensions and feeling, in the depth of 
their anguish and terror, obtained relief from a dying- 
Saviour by believing; which is mental sight, and took 
the impression of faith for a sensible reality. 

But there is still a spiritual exhibition of himself, 
in which he says, "Behold my hands and my feet." 
They are to be seen, First, in the Scripture of Truth ; 
in its types, prophecies, history, doctrine. Secondly, 
in the ministry of the Gospel, which is called "the 
preaching of the cross." Thirdly, in the teachings of 
the Holy Ghost, who takes of the things of Christ, 
and shews them to us ; so that we see the Son and 
believe on him. And, Fourthly, in the ordinance of 
the Lord's Supper, where, by emblems and memorials 
the most simple and significant before our eyes, Jesus 
Christ is evidently set forth crucified among us. 

And what should the sight remind us of? Behold- 
ing his hands and his feet, we should think of the evil 
of sin, that required his suffering and death to put it 
awav — And of the justice of God. that spared not his 
own Son when he became a surety for us — And the 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in his kindness to- 



280 May 14.— Morning. 

wards us. We hear of benefactors : but bow rarely 
do they exercise self-denial, or make personal and 
painful sacrifices! We talk of love; and greater love 
hath no man than this, that a man lay clown his life 
for his friends. Bat while Ave were enemies Christ 
died for us. 



MAY 14.— MORNING. 
" I will cause you to pass under the rod." Ezek. xx. 37. 

Three things in the Scripture go by this name. A 
father's scourge ; a king's sceptre ; and a shepherd's 
crook. All these will apply in the present instance ; 
and all of them are necessary to do some justice to the 
subject. 

— There is a paternal rod. Thus we read, He that 
spareth the rod, hateth his son. I will visit their 
transgressions with a rod, and their iniquities with 
stripes. There can be no mistake here. The idea is 
correction ; and the rod means the instrument with 
which the father chastises. God is a father ; and he 
has a rod. This rod is made of any kind of affliction 
— outward troubles — bodily pains — family bereave- 
ments. Even men, wicked men, reproaching and 
injuring us, and undeservedly too, as to them, may be 
God's scourge to make us suffer. Thus he said of the 
Assyrian: " Assyrian; the rod of mine anger, and 
the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will 
send him against an hypocritical nation, and against 
the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to 
take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread 
them down like the mire of the streets." Our friends, 
our children, our dearest comforts in life, if needs be, 



May 14. — Morning. 281 

God can make the means of chastising us. Who 
comes not under this rod? "As many as I love, I 
rebuke and chasten." They are not all exercised in 
the same way : but "what son is he whom the father 
chasteneth not?" And who, painful as the exercise 
may be, cannot acknowledge, in the review, if not in 
the enduring, " it is good for me that I have been 
afflicted"? 

And as they are useful in our progress in the divine 
life, so they have frequently been the means of first 
awakening the desire, "Where is God my Maker, 
who giveth songs in the night ?" The failure of the 
human arm has led to a dependence on the Divine. 
The desolations of earth have said to purpose, "Arise, 
and depart hence, for this is not your rest." What 
sent the Prodigal home ? He began to be in want. 
What brought Manasseh to repentance ? In his afflic- 
tion he sought the Lord God of his father— 

" Father, I bless thy gentle hand : 
How kind was thy chastising rod, 
That forced my conscience to a stand, 
And brought my wandering soul to God!" 

— There is a regal rod. So we call a sceptre. Of 
the Messiah, the King on his holy hill of Zion, it is 
said, " He shall rule them with a rod of iron :" but 
this refers to his adversaries. He has another kind 
of rod for his subjects : " The Lord shall send the rod 
of his strength out of Zion." And what was sent 
out of Zion but the Gospel ? The Gospel, therefore, 
is his rod: and this rod is his sceptre; the emblem 
of his authority, displaying his majesty, and main- 
taining his rule. Hence it is added, " Rule thou in 
the midst of thine enemies ;" meaning, over his sub- 



282 May 14.— Morxixg. 

jects, though surrounded with foes : for they are 
brought under his sway, and feel and acknowledge 
their subjection. It therefore foilows, "Thy people 
shall be willing in the day of thy power." Though 
once they said, Who is the Lord ? and we will not 
have him to reign over us; they are all brought 
under the rod of his strength. The Gospel has come 
to them, not in word only, but in power. It has 
awakened their consciences ; it has changed their dis- 
positions ; it has made them submit to the righteous- 
ness which is of God, and to yield themselves to his 
service, as those who are alive from the dead. They 
were the servants of sin ; but they now obey from the 
heart the form of doctrine which was delivered to 
them. 

— There is a pastoral rod. Of this David speaks ; 
when, addressing the Lord as his shepherd, he says, 
" Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art 
with me: thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 
This refers to the crook with which the shepherd both 
walks as he follows, and "uses as he manages the sheep. 
It is the symbol and instrument of his charge and 
office. The people of God are naturally like lost sheep 
going astray, wandering upon the mountains of bar- 
renness and danger. He seeks them, and finds them 
out, and brings them all under his rod. And happy 
they who are under his care. He is their shepherd, 
and they shall not want. He will make them to lie 
down in green pastures. He will feed them beside 
the still waters. He will restore their souls, and lead 
them in the paths of righteousness for his Name's 
sake. He will gather the lambs with his arm, and 
carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that 



May 14. — Evening. 

are with young. And the privilege commenced in 
grace, will be continued and completed in glory. 
"Therefore are the} 7 before the throne of God, and 
serve him day and night in his temple ; and he that 
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They 
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; nei- 
ther shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For 
the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall 
feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains 
of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes." 

MAY 14.— EVENING. 
"And the Lord shewed me four carpenters." Zech. i. 20. 

" The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's : 
but the earth hath he given to the children of men." 
And it is given them not only to possess and enjoy, 
but to cultivate. Carelessness, and ignorance, and 
sloth, stalk over many rude and barren spots, which 
skill and diligence could render beautiful and pro- 
ductive. It is the same with the Scripture. Many 
passages as they are now read seem to have no mean- 
ing, and yield no information, yet they really contain 
much of the wisdom that is from above. U A11 Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for in- 
struction in righteousness ;" but they are addressed 
to us as rational creatures, and we are commanded to 
search them. We must therefore not only read them, 
but remark, and examine, and compare, and apply 
them. And if we do this with seriousness and prayer, 
we shall be amply rewarded for our endeavours, and 



284 May 14.— Evening. 

the good ground will yield " some an hundred fold, 
some sixty, and some thirty." 

Zechariah had seen four horns, and had said to the 
angel that talked with him, " What be these ?" And 
he answered him ; " These are the horns which have 
scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." Then the 

LOED SHEWED HIM FOUR CARPENTERS. And upon 

his inquiring, " What come these to do ?" he received 
for answer, " These are come to fray them, to cast 
out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their 
horn over the land of Judah to scatter it." 

It is not perhaps possible to determine who those 
" four horns " were, or whether they are to be viewed 
as so many individuals or nations — they were evi- 
dently hostile powers. The same may be said of these 
" four carpenters." Some have supposed they were 
Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and Nehemiah, and Ezra. In 
each case, a definite number seems to be used for an 
indefinite. 

But we see from it — That the friends of Zion are as 
numerous as her foes ; That her defence is equal to 
her danger; and That as the state of his people re- 
quires it, the Lord will seasonably raise up means and 
instruments for their succour and deliverance. This 
is the doctrine of the text. And the assurance may 
be derived from four principles — The love of God — 
The power of God — The faithfulness of God — The con- 
duct of God. In the first we see that he must be in- 
clined to appear for them, as they are infinitely dear 
to him. In the second we see that he is able to save 
them. In the third, that he is engaged to do it. In 
the fourth, that he always has done it— Scripture, his- 
tory, and experience, being witness — 



May 15.— Mokning. 285 

" Then let the world forbear their rage, 

The Church renounce her fear ; 

Israel must live through every age, 

And be the Almighty's care." 



MAY 15.— MORNING. 

" I will bring you into the bond of the covenant." 

Ezek. xx. 37. 

What is this covenant? Some always consider it a 
kind of stipulation between God and us ; in which he 
proposes to do so much, if we will do so much : thus 
representing the Supreme Being as a bargainer, get- 
ting as good terms as he can ; while man, the other 
high contracting party, agrees to thern. But God is 
said to make a covenant with the earth, and with the 
beasts of the field. This cannot intend a reciprocal 
negotiation ; but the engagement of God only. It is 
called a covenant allusively, to signify its stability and 
certainty ; the effect in the one instance being put for 
the cause in the other. For the same reason, this 
name is given to that gracious constitution for the 
salvation of sinners through the Mediator, made known 
in the Scripture for the obedience of faith : and is the 
very same with what is also called " the mercy 
promised to the fathers ;" and " the hope of eternal 
life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the 
world began." 

The bond of this covenant is the obligation which 
it lays upon God who makes it, and upon those who 
are saved by it. We could not, without profaneness, 
have talked of binding God : but he has been pleased, 
in his infinite condescension, to bind himself. His 
heart could have been trusted: but he knew our 



286 Mat 15. — Morning. 

frame, and our weakness ; and to remove all our fear- 
ful misgiving, arising from our meanness and guilt, 
he has brought himself under a covenant engagement. 
And if it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be con- 
firmed, no man disannulleth it. And he has con- 
firmed his engagement by an oath — and because he 
could swear by no greater, he sware by himself; and 
also by sacrifice — and the victim was no less than his 
only begotten Son, and whose blood, therefore, is 
called the blood of the everlasting covenant. Thus 
he is bound to be the God of his people. He is 
bound to save them; to pardon them; to sanctify 
them ; to help them. Bound to make all things 
work together for their good. Bound to give them 
grace and glory, and to withhold no good thing from 
them. 

It also binds them — Not to atone for their sin — 
this is already expiated ; nor to produce a righteous- 
ness to justify them before God — this is already 
brought in, and on this their hope only relies — but 
they are bound to obey, and serve, and glorify Him 
who has done such great things for them. Surely 
evidence, consistency, gratitude, justice, require it. 
They feel the obligation, and acknowledge it, and 
wish all to know that they are not their own, but 
bought with a price. They feel the obligation, and it 
is not irksome : for though they are bound, it is with 
the cords of a man, and the bands of love. It is the 
obligation of a mother to press to her bosom her suck- 
ing child ; it is the obligation of a hungry man to eat 
his pleasant meat — My meat is to do the will of him 
that sent me. It is a yoke ; but it is like the yoke of 
marriage to the happy pair who daily bless the bonds. 
It is a burden ; but it is like the burden of wings to 



May 15.-^Evening. 287 

the bird, which, instead of confining him, gives him 
the freedom of the skies— -My yoke, says the Saviour, 
is easy, and my burden is light. 

Blessed are the people that are in such a case — 
Their humble confidence can authorize them in every 
trouble to say, "Yet hath he made with me an ever- 
lasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure ; for 
this is all my salvation and all my desire " — and their 
affectionate zeal, in every temptation, will constrain 
them to sing, 

"AH that I have, and all I am, 
Shall be for ever thine : 
Whate'er my duty bids me give, 
My cheerful hands resign. 

" Yet, if I might make some reserve, 
And duty did not call, 
I love my God with zeal so great, 
That I should give him all." 



MAY 15.— EVENING. 

"And she said, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the 
woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this 
child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I 
asked of him." 1 Sam. i. 26, 21. 

Here we see the meekness of wisdom, and the wis- 
dom of meekness. Hannah does not bring the former 
scene to the remembrance of Eli by his improper car- 
riage towards her — "Oh my lord, I am the woman 
you called a drunkard, and treated as a daughter of 
Belial. What do you think of her now? And what 
do you think of yourself, and your false and cruel 
censure?" Little minds always retain a sense of an 
injury received: but it is the glory of a man to pass 



288 May 15.— Evening. 

by a transgression ; and we are not to be overcome of 
evil, but to overcome evil with good. We question 
the sincerity of a man who says, I forgive but I do 
not forget. We are sure he does not resemble the 
Father of mercies; who says, Their sins and their 
iniquities will I remember no more. Good men are 
not to be upbraided with their miscarriages and mis- 
takes. They have long ago mourned over them ; and 
have condemned them more than others have done — 
Let them be buried in oblivion for ever. 

Here we behold one of those transitions which often 
take place in human life. We may compare it with 
another affecting change of a very different quality, 
and which also befel a pious woman. When Naomi 
returned with her daughter-in-law Euth from the 
country of Moab, to which she had been driven by 
famine, and had reached her native village, the people 
of Bethelem came around her, saying, "Is this Naomi?" 
And she said, " Call me not Naomi — Call me Mara, 
for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me. I had 
substance — I am now poor. I had a husband — I am 
now a widow. I was a mother — I am now childless. 
I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home 
again empty. Why then call ye me Naomi, seeing 
the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty 
hath afflicted me?" But what a difference is there 
between Hannah's former and present circumstances 
and experience! Then she was a petitioner — now she 
is filled with thanksgiving, and has the garment of 
praise for the spirit of heaviness. Then she presented 
herself at the temple in the bitterness of her soul ; then 
she sowed in tears — now she reaps in joy ; then she 
went forth weeping, bearing precious seed — now she 
returns again with rejoicing, bringing her sheaf with 



May 15. — Evening. 289 

lier. " Oh my lord, you may have forgotten the case, 
but / have not, I who am now so favoured and 
honoured am the very woman who was here at such 
a time, drunk indeed with grief: but he has made 
darkness light before me ; he has turned the shadow 
of death into the morning. — Oh my lord, I am the 
woman that stood by thee here praying unto the Lord." 
Here we learn the importance of prayer. Whoever 
undervalues it, says Hannah, I can extol and recom- 
mend it. I have found it good to draw near to God 
— For this child I prayed ; and the Lord hath given 
me my petition which I asked of him. Time employed 
in prayer is not spent in vain. Prayer is the richest 
traffic in the world ; the merchandise of it is better 
than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof 
than fine gold. By intercourse with Grod we are im- 
pressed, and made to resemble him: as the face of 
Moses shone when he came down from the communion 
of Horeb. How are wc refreshed by the exercise when 
our spirits are weary and ready to faint ! How it 
enables us to leave our fears and cares at the footstool 
of Divine grace ; and go away as Hannah did with our 
countenance no more sad, and our heart feeling the 
peace of Grod which passeth all understanding! 
Trouble is the dreary path which in this vale of tears 
all will sooner or later tread : and to enter without a 
guide; to go on without a comforter; to meet death 
at the end without support or hope — if any man be 
reduced to this, "I say, an untimely birth is better 
than he." But let us not limit the subject or suppose 
with some that the worth or usefulness of prayer arises 
wholly and merely from the influence of the perform- 
ance. The labour of the husbandman in the field is 
beneficial to him by the exercise, and conduces to 
13 



290 May 15. — Evening. 

health and strength : but he looks also for a crop ; and 
goes forth and sees first the blade, then the ear, and 
after that the full corn in the ear. So it is with us. 
The very action of prayer benefits and improves us ; 
but if there be any meaning in the Scripture, we may 
rely upon answers of prayer. This woman obtained 
her request ; and the time would fail us to tell of all 
those recorded in the word of God who could acknow- 
ledge that he had given them the blessings which they 
asked of him. 

Hannah observes the answer to her petition. Prayer 
is sometimes answered immediately, and sometimes it 
is delayed. It is sometimes answered in the very thing 
desired, and sometimes in a way of exchange — while 
sometimes by strange, and even terrible things in 
righteousness the Lord answers his people. Wisdom 
therefore is here necessary in discerning, and caution 
in j udging. We should not indeed subtilize too much ; 
nor be distressed if we cannot ascertain what is in 
answer to prayer. We have always enough to en- 
courage us to continue in the exercise, and should 
impress our minds with the conviction that our seeking 
cannot be in vain in the Lord. 

Yet as prayer is answered, it is proper and important 
to attend to it ; and whoso is wise and will observe 
these things, even he shall understand the lovingkind- 
ness of the Lord. It is more than trifling with the 
Supreme Being, it is even insulting him, to awaken 
his attention when we never mean to regard his benefits. 
Yet thousands never think more of their prayers when 
they have once offered them. They knock, but never 
stay to see whether the door of mercy is opened. They 
send an address, but never wait for the reply, or read 
it when it comes. And will God remember prayers 



May 15. — Evening. 291 

which we ourselves forget, or regard prayers which 
we ourselves despise ? On the other hand, how de- 
sirable it is to know that he has not forgotten to be 
gracious, or turned away our prayer from him ! How 
confirming is it to our confidence to be able to say, 
with Moses, " The Lord heard me at that time also I" 
What excitement to praise and prayer does David 
derive from the persuasion ; " I love the Lord, because 
he hath heard my voice and my supplications ; because 
he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call 
upon him as long as I live !" 

Hannah not only observes the regard of God to her 
case, but acknowledges it We should do the same. 
We should not hide his righteousness within our heart ; 
but declare his faithfulness and his salvation. Many 
stand in need of encouragement, and under a sense of 
their unworthiness and guilt are ready to conclude that 
the Lord will not hear them. Let us be his witnesses. 
Let us testify from our own experience. I have tried 
the freeness and fulness of his grace. I never trusted 
in him and was confounded, never sought him and was 
disappointed. Let us tell it to his own people. It will 
not excite their envy ; the humble shall hear thereof 
and be glad. They have prayed for us : let us call 
upon them to aid our praise. magnify the Lord 
with me, and let us exalt his Name together. I sought 
the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all 
my fears. Come and hear, all ye that fear Grod, and 
I will declare what he hath done for my soul. Yea, 
like Hannah, let us tell it to Eli — Ministers personally 
need such communications ; and they can also improve 
them for the good of others, both in their private in- 
tercourse and in their public services. 

What a place will heaven be when we ascend to 



292 May 16.— Morning. 

that Shiloh! What developments shall we have to 
make from our history and experience ! What 
answers of prayer ! What deliverances ! What blessings 
to acknowledge ! What mutual congratulations shall 
we have to receive ! What praises shall we have to 
offer! 



MAY 16.— MORNING. 

" Therefore I have lent him to the Lord ; as long as he liveth he 
shall be lent to the Lord." 1 Sam. i. 28. 

To resign so dear a child for ever, this must have 
been an exercise of great self-denial in Hannah. But 
it was only an act of fidelity to religious engagement. 
It was the condition of her prayer : " She vowed a vow, 
and said, Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on 
the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, 
and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto 
thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto 
the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no 
razor come upon his head." Distress will often gender 
purposes and resolutions, because we then feel our 
weakness and dependence ; but when the danger is 
removed, or the blessing obtained, and the hour of 
performance is arrived, we resemble the lepers who 
when healed returned not to give glory to Grod. How 
many have howled upon their beds, and poured out a 
prayer, when God's chastening hand was upon them ! 
But their vows of sickness have been violated by re- 
newed health, and their iniquities, like the wind, have 
taken them away. Even Hezekiah, affected as he was 
by the Divine goodness, so that he composed a writing 
to fix and perpetuate the sentiment, and said, " The 



iMay 16.— Morning* 293 

living, the living, lie shall praise thee, as I do this day : 
the father to the children shall make known thy truth ; 
the Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will 
sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the 
days of our life in the house of the Lord:" yet after 
all this he rendered not according to the benefit done 
him. 

So it was with Jacob. When, going from home a 
forlorn youth, he was indulged with the vision at 
Beth-el, and alluding to the Divine intimation so suited 
to his circumstances of distress, he "vowed a vow, 
saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in 
this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and 
raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's 
house in peace ; then shall the Lord be my God : and 
this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's 
house : and of all that thou shalt give me I will sure- 
ly give the tenth unto thee." Yet when he returned, 
multiplied and enriched, he passed year after year, 
comparatively in the neighbourhood, forgetful of his 
engagement, till God said to him, "Arise, go up to 
Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar 
unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest 
from the face of Esau thy brother." Then, and not 
till then, "Jacob said unto his household, and to all 
that were with him, Put away the strange gods that 
are among you, and be clean, and change }^our gar- 
ments: and let us arise, and go up to Beth -el; and I 
will make there an altar unto God, who answered me 
in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way 
which I went." 

We do not much recommend vowing. We would 
rather urge praying, But if vows are to be made, 
let them be made in the strength of Divine grace; 



294 May 16. — Morning. 

and let them not be trifled with, but fulfilled. " When 
thou vowest a vow unto Grod, defer not to pay it; for 
he hath no pleasure in fools : pay that which thou hast 
vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, 
than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." How 
noble was the conduct of David upon his deliverance ! 
"I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings: I 
will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, 
and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble." 
In the same manner Hannah acts when she brings 
her little Samuel to Shiloh, and dedicates him to the 
Lord — " As long as he liveth he shall be lent to the 
Lord"— 

And was she a loser by this surrender? Did he 
cease to be hers because he was the Lord's? She 
would feel a new and a peculiar interest in him, in 
consequence of his relation to the sanctuary. There 
she knew the little Levite would be safe, and happy, 
and dignified. There he would grow up to be the 
light of Israel, the prophet, the ruler, the judge of 
his country. And she would make him a little coat, 
and bring it to him year by year, when she came up 
with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And 
while her fingers were employed in the needlework, 
her spirit would hold communion with him ; and she 
would look forward to a state in which she would 
possess him for ever— 

Was she a loser by this resignation ? Immediately 
her tongue was loosed, and became as the pen of a 
ready writer: "My heart rejoiceth in the Lord; mine 
horn is exalted in the Lord ; my mouth is enlarged 
over mine enemies ; because I rejoice in thy salvation." 
There is nothing meritorious in our performances; 
but with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Them 



May 16.— Morning. 295 

that honour me, says God, I will honour. When we 
follow our convictions, and shew that we hold nothing 
too dear to part with at his call, he gives us the testi- 
mony of his approbation, and fills the mind with peace 
and joy. When the Eunuch was baptized he went on 
his way rejoicing. What is the reason that some are 
strangers to the liberty and comfort of the Gospel? 
Is it not because of some known duty neglected ? or 
some idol adored ? Are the consolations of God small 
with thee ? Is there no secret thing with thee ? Throw 
the head of the traitor to our Lord the King over the 
wall ; and Joab retires, and peace is restored — that 
thou hadst hearkened to my commandments ! then had 
thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the 
waves of the sea. . 

Was she a loser by this sacrifice? "And the Lord 
visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three 
sons and two daughters." For one child given, be- 
hold five added! "And Amaziah said to the man of 
God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents 
which I have given to the army of Israel ? And the 
man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee 
much more than this." " Then Peter said, Lo, we 
have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto 
them, Yerily I say unto you, There is no man that 
hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or 
children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall 
not receive manifold more in this present time, and in 
the world to come life everlasting." 



May 16. — Evening, 



MAY 16.— EVENING. 

"And it came to pass, when the time was eome that he should be 
received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem." 

Luke ix. 51. 

Whither he was to be received up, is not mentioned. 
But it is easily understood, especially if we compare 
the words with other passages. Accordingly, the 
margin refers us to two places : in the first of which 
Luke says, " Until the day in which he was taken 
up ;" and, in the second, Mark says, "So, then, after 
the Lord had spoken unto them r he was received up 
into heaven, and sat on the right hand of Grod." The 
event, therefore, was his ascending to his Father and 
our Father ; to his Grod and our Grod. There was the 
home where he originally dwelt. He speaks of a glory 
which he had with the Father before the world was. 
Thus he was rich ; but for our sakes he became poor, 
and made himself of no rejDutation. He resided on 
earth for three-and-thirty years in a kind of exile : a 
prince, higher than the kings of the earth, in dis- 
guise ; and the world knew him not. But having ac- 
complished the work that was given him to do, he 
entered into his glory. 

And if nothing is left to chance in our minutest 
affairs, surely there was nothing un arranged with 
regard to his leaving this world to go unto the Father. 
Accordingly we here read of the time for his being 
received up. And if they have chronicles above, and 
days, as we have — what a memorable day would that 
have been in which, after such an absence, and after 
such astonishing exploits, and completely vanquishing 



May 16. — Evening. 297 

all the powers of darkness, the everlasting doors were 
opened, for the King of glory to enter in ! 

On this, therefore, the Saviour fixed his eye; and 
this emboldened him to set his face stedfastly to go to 
Jerusalem. For what zeal, what courage, did the de- 
termination require ! He knew the perilous nature of 
the journey. He apprehended all that awaited him 
when he should arrive. He knew that there he 
should be forsaken — and betrayed — and apprehended 
— and mocked — and scourged — and crucified. Yet 
his resolution does not fail him. Lo ! I come, says he, 
to do thy will, O God ! I have a baptism to be bap- 
tized with ; and how am I straitened till it be accom- 
plished! For he looked — beyond — and regarded the 
blessed result. And this was the glorification of his 
human nature ; the acquirement of his Mediatorial re- 
ward ; the dispensation of the Holy Spirit ; the govern- 
ment of the world ; the salvation of the Church ; the 
enjoyment of the praises of the redeemed for ever! 
This was the joy set before him in covenant engage- 
ment ; and for this he endured the Cross, and despised 
the shame. For though his soul was to be made a 
sacrifice for sin, yet he knew that he should rise from 
the dead, and see of the travail of his soul, and be 
satisfied. Therefore, as the season drew near, he 
looked to the issue, and triumphed in the prospect. 
Now, says he, is the hour that the Son of man shall 
be — not abased, but — glorified. Now is the judgment 
of this world ; now is the Prince of this world cast out : 
and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all 
men unto me. 

— So, Christian, should it be with you. There is 
a time appointed when you also shall be removed 
from this vale of tears, and be for ever with the Lord. 
13* 



298 May 17.— Morning. 

Think of it ; and set your face boldly and firmly to 
go, wherever duty calls. The man who has an amp ci- 
tation to suffer must not dwell on the operation — but 
must pass in thought beyond, to the restoration of 
health, and the continuance of life. This, Christian, 
is the way to endure, and to be more than a conqueror. 
It is to reckon, that the sufferings of the present time 
are not worthy to be compared with the glory that 
shall be revealed — You may sow in tears, but you 
shall reap in joy. The road may be rough, but it will 
soon bring you home. 

" Yet a season, and, you know, 
Happy entrance will be given ; 
All your sorrows left below, 

And earth exchanged for heaven." 



MAY 11.— MORNING. 

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from 
the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thine hand, 
O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, king, that we will not 
serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set 
up." Dan. iii. 17, 18. 

Conduct so tried, and so triumphant in the trial, 
must have had some principle to produce it. He who 
acts without principle, is the slave of impulse, humour, 
accident, custom ; and you can no more rely upon 
him than upon a wave of the sea, driven with the 
wind and tossed. But when a man is governed by 
principle, he will be consistent in his practice. He 
may have infirmities, but a sameness pervades his 
character. He may err, but he is conscientious ; and 
his excellencies will appear even in his mistakes and 



May 17.— Mokning. 299 

failings. Can we find a principle adequate to this 
heroism ? The Apostle tells us it was faith. But faith 
must have something to lay hold of — and the faith of 
these young men seizes three things. 

The first is, the power of God. "Our God whom 
we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery 
furnace," They knew nothing was too hard for the 
Lord. And we believe in the Father Almighty, 
Maker of heaven and earth. We, indeed, are not to 
look for miracles : but the power of God is the same 
as formerly; and there are cases in which the view 
of it can alone inspire relief. When difficulties mul- 
tiply, and means fail, and creatures say, Help is not 
in us — then we must lay hold of his strength, and re- 
member that he is < able to do for us exceeding abun- 
dantly above all we can ask or think. 

The second is, his disposition. "And he will deliver 
us out of thine hand, O king." This they deemed 
probable — perhaps they had a persuasion of it, de- 
rived from the Divine impression; or deduced from 
the character of God, and the records of his word. 
They had read in the Scriptures, along with the ex- 
perience of his people, the assurance, "Call upon me 
in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee:" 
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be 
with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not 
overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, 
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee." Here is another argument of 
faith — His people eye his goodness, as well as his 
power; and know that he will appear for them, and 
save them — in his own way, and in his own time. 

The third is, a future state — "But if not, be it 
known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy 



300 May 17.— Mobning. 

gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast 
set up." What! would they refuse, even if death 
was the consequence? Yes I And this shews un- 
deniably that they did not consider death as annihila- 
tion. They would not have acted thus had they 
believed that there was nothing beyond the grave. 
Had they perished in the furnace, their martyrdom 
could not have been their duty — it would have been 
the sacrifice of fools — their end would have been 
madness. 

This is the very case argued by the Apostle: "If 
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all 
men the most miserable:" "Else what shall they do 
which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not 
at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? 
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?" God 
does not require us to sacrifice our being and happi- 
ness for ever to his pleasure — It is not his pleasure — 
It cannot be his pleasure. By the law of our nature, 
and the authority of his word, we are even commanded 
to seek our welfare, and to seek first the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness — and therefore, to be willing 
to give these up, would be disobedience and contempt. 
But the language was wise and noble, when they 
knew, that though they fell in the conflict, they should 
yet be more than conquerors ; and that, if they lost a 
dying, they would obtain an immortal life. 

It is absurd to suppose the Jews of old had no 
knowledge of a future state. Search the Scriptures, 
says the Saviour, for in them ye think ye have eternal 
life. Abraham, and his fellow-heirs of the same pro- 
mise, said such things as declared plainly that they 
sought a country, even a heavenly. David said, Thou 
shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive 



May 17.— Evening. 301 

me to glory. Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, 
acted upon this belief; and must have acted upon it. 
They endured as seeing Him who is invisible. And 
what was Nebuchadnezzar, compared with the Al- 
mighty? What was the furnace, compared with the 
lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is 
the second death? What could they gain by com- 
plying, compared with what they would for ever lose ? 
And what could they lose by refusing, compared with 
what they would for ever gain? — We reckon, said 
they, that the sufferings of the present time are not 
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be 
revealed in us. 

— And our faith must regard the future ; or we shall 
be often perplexed, and vanquished. This is the 
victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 
Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people 
of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, 
for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 
This believed and realized, explains all ; harmonizes 
all; indemnifies all; glorifies all, "For our light afflic- 
tion, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; while we 
look not at the things which are seen, but at the things 
which are not seen : for the things which are seen are 
temporal; but the things which are not seen are 
eternal." Lord ! I believe ; help thou mine unbelief. 



MAY 17.— EVENING. 
"The son of consolation." Acts iv. 36. 

This is spoken of a man who was a Levite. His 
ancestors had retired from Judaea to the country of 
Cyprus. We know not for what purpose ; but there 



302 May 17.— Evening. 

he was born. His first name was Joses. But after 
his conversion to Christianity he was surnamed by the 
Apostles Barnabas, which is, being interpreted, the 
son of consolation. Two reasons have been assigned 
for this denomination ; both very consistent with each 
other ; and both very probable in themselves. 

First, because by his property — for he had sub- 
stance, — he succoured and solaced the poor and mise- 
rable. 

And Secondly, because by his preaching he com- 
forted the people of Grod, and encouraged sinners to 
come to the Saviour for deliverance. 

Ministers may differ considerably from each other. 
Some may be called Boanerges, or sons of thunder, 
not only as they are bold in their manner, but as the 
severe seems to be their element, and they deal much 
in the alarming. Others are Barnabases ; and have 
the tongue of the learned given them, that they may 
know how to speak a word in season to him that is 
weary. Let us not oppose the servants of Christ to 
each other, thereby extolling one, and running down 
another, because of their diversities. Let us view 
them all in their commission, and their suitableness 
to their appointments. Their stations, their natural 
dispositions, their gifts, their graces, are not the same : 
but we need them all ; and they are all useful. Let 
one plant, and another water ; let one lay the founda- 
tion, and another build thereon; let one be set for 
the defence of the Gospel, and another abound in the 
application of it : each is alike respectable ; and each 
shall receive his own reward according to his own 
labour. 

Beware, says the Apostle, in his address to the 
Corinthians, that you fall not into spiritual babyism ; 



May 18. — Morning. 303 

or walk as men. " While one saith, I am of Paul ; 
and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, bat ministers 
by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every 
man?" To him let us look, and say, not formally, 
but sincerely, "Lord, send by whom thou wilt send." 
If we attempt to make the favourite a substitute in 
"God's stead," we shall provoke the Most High to 
remove him, or to withhold his blessing by him; 
thereby to reprove our idolatry, and to convince us 
that he will not give his glory to another. Happy 
they whose strength is in Him ! They are most likely 
to succeed, both in hearing and in preaching, who are 
most imbued with the conviction ; "Not by might, nor 
by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." 



MAY 18.— MORNING. 

"Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord it is good for us 
to be here : if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles ; one for 
thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." Matt. xvii. 4. 

— "Not knowing," we are assured by the Holy 
Ghost ; " not knowing what he said." For had the 
motion been complied with, how could our Saviour 
have suffered and died ? And if Peter had continued 
there, how could he have attended to his wife and 
children ? Besides, he was mistaken as to the nature 
and design of the dispensation ; which was only for a 
confirmation of their faith, by making them witnesses 
of his glory, and to afford them a glimpse or taste of 
the heavenly blessedness — The full fruition was for 
another world. If ever we think of building taber- 



304 May 18. — Morning. 

nacles here, we shall soon hear a voice saying, " Arise, 
and depart hence, for this is not your rest." 

But though he did not know what he said, he knew 
why he said it. Two things caused his bliss. First, 
the communion of saints. And here were not only 
John and James, but Moses and Elias. And these 
were not shining statues — they spake — and spake 
of the Saviour's decease. What a subject ! What 
speakers! How delightful must such intercourse 
have been ! — But the second was the presence of Jesus. 
And surely it cannot be a question why it is good to 
be where He is. With him we are safe ; and nowhere 
else. He is the source of all delight and knowledge 
He is the fountain of honour and excellency. He is 
the consolation of Israel. He is all and in all. 

But where is he with his people ? — we do not mean 
as to his essential presence — this is universal ; but as 
to his special and gracious.' — He is with them in the 
closet. There he manifests himself to them, as he 
does not in the world. There they enjoy an intimacy, 
a freedom, an unrestrained intercourse with him, such 
as other company will not allow. Could these beams 
and rafters, said a good man, pointing to an unceiled 
roof, speak, they would testify what hours of enjoy- 
ment I have had here in communion with him. Of 
the closet, therefore, they can say, It is good for us to 
be here. 

< — He is with them in his temple. Where would 
you look for a man but in his own house ? And the 
sanctuary is the place where the Lord's honour 
dwelleth. In all places where I record my Name, I 
will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And 
have they not found the promise true? Have they 
not seen his power and glory in the sanctuary ? Of 



May 18. — Morning. 305 

his house, therefore, they can say, It is good for us to 
be here. 

— He is with them at his table. His Cross is every 
thiDg to a Christian ; and here before our eyes Jesus 
Christ is evidently set forth crucified among us. What 
a sublime duty, what an exalted privilege, is the com- 
memoration of his death ! His flesh is meat indeed, 
and his blood is drink indeed ! "Who has not pecu- 
liarly found him in this exercise the Tree of Life ? 
Who has not said, I sat down under his shadow with 
delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste ? It is 
good for us to be here. 

— He is with them in the furnace. There the Three 
Hebrew Children found him. The flames only con- 
sumed their bands, and set them free; and they 
were seen walking in the midst of the fire with the 
Son of Cod ! I will be with thee, says he, in trouble. 
And if this be fulfilled — and it must be fulfilled — they 
will have reason to say, however deep the distress, 
Lord, it is good for us to be here. 

— He is with them in the vale of death. How much 
will they need him then ! Then all other friends and 
helpers leave them. The heart and flesh will fail them 
— What shall we do, they have often said ; what shall 
we do without him then ? But they will not be with- 
out him. He knows their frame ; and his grace is 
sufficient for them : and his strength shall be perfect 
in their weakness — Yea, though they walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, he is with them ; 
his rod and his staff they comfort them : and then 
they have cause to say, Lord, it is good for us to be 
here. 

How much more will they be justified in saying 
this in heaven ! There he is with them immediately. 



306 May IS.— Evening. 

There they will see him as he is. There, before the 
presence of his glory, they will possess fulness of joy 
and pleasures for evermore. 

But none will be translated thither in person, whose 
hearts are not sent off first. Xone will have their 
residence in heaven hereafter, who have not their con- 
versation in heaven here. ]S"one will be with the Lord 
for ever, but those that find it their happiness for the 
Lord to be ivith them now. 



MAY 18.— EVENING. 

"Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanetification, and redemption." 1 Cor. i. 30. 

Here are four articles. The first is wisdom — He is 
made of God unto us wisdom. He is the true excel- 
lency of the understanding. In knowing him, we 
know all that is necessary to be known. Especially 
we know (rod — Xo man hath seen God at any time ; 
the only begotten Son who was in the bosom of the 
Father, he hath declared him. He is the author of 
our spiritual illumination : he is the prophet of his 
Church, and leads us into all truth by his word and 
Spirit. As the sun can only be seen by his own rays, 
so he is only known by his own revealing. He there- 
fore says, "I will manifest myself unto him." The 
second is righteousness — He is made of God unto us 
righteousness. That is, he delivers us from guilt and 
condemnation, and makes us just before God. The 
Apostle tells us how it is accomplished : " he hath 
made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we 
might be made the righteousness of God in him." This 
righteousness, derived entirely from himself, regard- 



May 18. — Evening. 307 

less of our worthiness or works, is called the right- 
eousness which is of faith, because it is only appre- 
hended, and made ours, and pleaded, by faith. The 
third is sanctification — He is made of God unto us 
sanctification. This is as__ much from him as right- 
eousness, only not in the same way. He is the one to 
us by imputation, he is the other by communication. 
By the one he changes our state, by the other our 
nature. By the one he entitles us to eternal life, by 
the other he makes us meet for it. But though the 
blessings are distinguishable, they are not separable. 
He came by water, and by blood. Whom he j ustifies 
he renews. And this sanctification is more than a 
reformation of manners, or mere morality. A man 
may be moral without being sanctified, but he cannot 
be sanctified without being moral. "When he sancti- 
fies us he puts a new spirit within us; delivers us 
from the dominion and the love of every sin ; and 
enables us not only to obey God, but to delight to do 
"his will, and to dedicate all we have to his service and 
glory. The fourth is redemption — He is made of God 
unto us redemption. To ascertain the meaning of 
which, we must observe, that it is distinguished from 
the foregoing benefits. But if it were taken for re- 
demption from the curse of the Law, it would coin- 
cide with his being our righteousness ; and if for 
emancipation from the servitude of sin, it would be 
comprised in his being our sanctification. It is also 
mentioned after wisdom, righteousness, and sanctifica- 
tion. To which we may add an appeal to other pas- 
sages of Scripture where the same term is used. 
Thus Paul says to the Ephesians, Grieve not the Holy 
Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of 
redemption. And to the Romans, We groan within 



308 May 18.— Evening. 

ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemp- 
tion of the body. Here the import of the term must 
mean the resurrection to eternal life. And there is a 
peculiar propriety in applying the word to this con- 
clusion of the Christian's recovery from the effects of 
the Fall, not only because any great deliverance, re- 
gardless of price, is called redemption in the Scripture, 
but also because it is the effect of the purchase of 
the Cross. Christ has ransomed the bodies as well 
as the souls of his people, and therefore God's cove- 
nant also is with their dust. Their bodies will not 
only be raised, but infinitely improved, and will bear 
not the image of the earthly but of the heavenly 
Adam. The sacred writers therefore, in speaking of 
the happiness of believers, go forward at once to the 
glory of the last day — not to the denying or under- 
valuing of an intermediate state, but because their 
salvation will then, and not till then, be perfectly 
achieved. This consummation is all his own work 
and honour — "To them that look for him will he 
appear a second time without sin unto salvation." 
"We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; 
who shall change our vile body, that it may be 
fashioned like unto his glorious body." 

And is he made of Grod unto us wisdom, and 
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption ? — 
Then we learn what is our condition by nature : we 
are destitute of all these, and can never derive them 
from ourselves. — Then we see the importance and 
value of the Lord Jesus. He is not something only, 
but every thing, to them that are lost. In him we 
are blessed with all spiritual blessings. — Then we 
need not wonder that he is the substance of revela- 
tion, and that the Scriptures everywhere should testify 



May 19. — Moening. 309 

of him. — Then he should be the theme, the only 
theme of preaching ; and every minister, faithful to 
his commission or usefulness, like Paul, should de- 
termine not to know any thing, save Jesus Christ, and 
him crucified. — Then we may judge of the happiness 
of Christians who can realize him in all these glo- 
rious blessings as their own ; and infer how resigned, 
and glad of heart, and thankful, they should always 
live. — And what says the subject to those who despise 
or neglect him ? What do they lose ? What will be 
their doom ! How intolerable ! How unavoidable ! 
And yet how righteous ! 

Let me therefore be wise enough to choose this 
good part, and seek after an interest in him. If ever 
I am saved, he must .be all my salvation — May he be 
all my desire. May a union with him be not only 
my supreme, but immediate concern — knowing that 
the gracious opportunity afforded me is short and 
uncertain, and — that I cannot be happy too soon. He 
who has the Son has life ; and is prepared for every 
dispensation. 



MAY 19.— MORNING. 

He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments ; and took a 
towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, 
and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the 
towel wherewith he was girded." John xiri. 4, 5. 

That he designed this to be exemplary is obvious, 
from his own declaration after the action had been 
performed. " Know ye what I have done to you. 
Ye call me Master and Lord : and ye say well ; for 
so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have 



310 May 19.— Mohnixg. 

washed jour feet ; ye also ought to wash one another's 
feet. For I have given you an example, that ye 
should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, The servant is not greater than his 
Lord ; neither he that is sent greater than he that 
sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if 
ye do them." 

Now it is not necessary that we should resemble 
him in the very circumstances of the action ; but only 
in the spirit of it. In Popish countries, the ceremony 
of washing the feet of another is often performed 
by persons not very lowly in heart — sometimes by 
a cardinal — yea, and sometimes even by the Pope 
himself. But the design is to enforce the humility of 
brotherly love ; and to teach us that no service is to be 
deemed too mean for Christians to perform, when 
Providence brings it in their way, and the condition 
of a fellow-creature requires it. We may profess to 
do this in the abstract, but refuse to afford the actual 
assistance called for, in particular instances, because 
the office is too mortifying to the pride of our feelings 
or manners. But this is not to love without dissimu- 
lation. This is to love in word and in tongue ; but 
not in deed and in truth. Many have lost all credit 
here, by their unfeeling, distant, and disdainful con- 
duct towards their inferiors, when they had the finest 
opportunities to evince their condescension, if they 
had any. 

It would be well if all who name the name of Christ 
would attend to the admonition of his Apostle — " In 
honour preferring one another — Mind not high things, 
but condescend to men of low estate." Job was the 
greatest man in the East ; yet he could say, "If I did 
despise the cause of my manservant or of my maid- 



May 19. — Morning. 311 

servant, when they contended with me ; what then 
shall I do when God riseth up ? and when he visiteth, 
what shall I answer him ? Did not he that made me 
in the womb make him ? and did not one fashion us 
in the womb ?" And with regard to those sufferers 
generally overlooked by greatness, yea, and by medi- 
ocrity too ; and those instances of humbler kindness, 
which splendid beneficence never thinks of ; he could 
make this affecting appeal : " If I have withheld the 
poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the 
widow to fail ; or have eaten my morsel alone, and 
the fatherless hath not eaten thereof : (for from my 
youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, 
and I have guided her from my mother's womb ;) if I 
have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor 
without covering ; if his loins have not blessed me, 
and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my 
sheep ; if I have lifted up my hand against the father- 
less, when I saw my help in the gate ; then let mine 
arm be broken from the bone." 

A great man seldom wants more help than he can 
purchase or procure. Though he has wasted his 
substance, and reduced himself so as to deserve 
starvation ; his utmost extremity is superfluous sub- 
sistence, compared with the suffering of a worthy 
character, who is neglected because originally indi- 
gent. But the industrious poor should be the objects 
of our attention, whose distress is brought upon them, 
not by vice, extravagance, and speculation, but by 
the providence of God; and whose condition sinks 
them below observation ; so that, in the midst of their 
trouble, none careth for them. 

Services small in their nature are greatly esteemed 
by those who are commonly neglected. And in those 



312 May 19.— Evening. 

offices you perform for them, you serve the Lord 
Christ. They cannot recompense you; but He will 
graciously say, u Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of 
the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." 

Let me then hear this blessed invitation — Take my 
yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and 
lowly in heart ; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 
Let the same mind be in me, which was also in Christ 
Jesus : who being in the form of God, thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of 
no reputation, and took upon him the form of a ser- 
vant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and 
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled him- 
self, and became obedient unto death, even the death 
of the cross. 

MAY 19.— EVENING. 
"Noah walked with God." Gen. vi. 9. 

The same thing is testified of Enoch ; and will be 
exemplified in every partaker of Divine grace. Two 
questions may be asked concerning it ; the one regards 
the nature, and the other the excellency, of this walk. 

Now as to the former of these, walking with God 
includes the following things. It supposes that we 
are on terms of concord and friendship — " How can two 
walk together, except they be agreed?" Here we see 
the necessity of a mediator. By the Fall we had re- 
volted from God, and our access to him was cut off. 
But Christ once suffered for sins, the just for the 
unjust, that he might bring us unto God. He made 
peace by the blood of his cross ; and we are accepted 
in the Beloved. But it is not enough that God is thus 
reconciled to us ; we must also be reconciled to God ; 



May 19. — Evening. 313 

reconciled to his nature, to his law, to his gospel, to 
his government. As sinners we have no sentiments 
of affection, gratitude, or obedience towards God, but 
feel a spirit of enmity against him — How then can we 
walk with him, till this alienation and aversion be 
subdued ? This change is effected by the Holy Spirit. 
The love of God is shed abroad in the heart, and then 
our desire is to his Name. What we dreaded to part 
with before, we then resign with ease ; and what was 
once irksome in the performance, becomes delightful. 
His commands are not grievous ; his yoke is easy, and 
his ways pleasantness and peace. 

— It also implies nearness. If you walk with any 
one, he must be with you. God is not far from any 
one of us ; he is abou.t our path and our bed, and is 
acquainted with all our ways. And as God is present 
with us, so we are present with him — "I am continu- 
ally with thee." By faith and reflection we bring 
ourselves consciously under his eye : feel, wherever 
we are, Hagar's impression. "Thou God seest me;" 
and upon every temptation to sin, however secret, say 
with Job, "Doth not he know my ways, and count 
all my steps I" 

— It also takes in communion. We do not walk 
with God as a madman with his keeper, or a servant 
behind his master, or as a stranger in the distance of 
reserve. God is our father and our friend ; and when 
we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fel- 
lowship one with another. Many a conference passes 
between us. Sometimes he begins. He addresses the 
soul, and the soul replies — "When thou saidst, Seek 
ye my face, my heart answered, Thy face, Lord, will 
I seek." At other times we begin. We have much 
to divulge and much to implore. And we are allowed 
14 



314 May 19. — Evening. 

to deal freely and familiarly with him ; yea, we are 
required in every thing by prayer and supplication 
with thanksgiving, to make known our requests unto 
God. 

— It also expresses mutual progress in the same di- 
rection. When we walk with another, we recede, and 
advance, together ; we move towards the same place 
or object. When therefore we walk with God, we 
pursue the same end with himself. And what is this 
end but his own glory ? This is his aim in all his 
works, and in all his dispensations. And the Christian 
has the same bias and the same movement ; and whe- 
ther he eats or drinks, or whatever he does, he does 
all to the glory of God. Hence one moral maxim 
serves as a short and sufficient rule to govern his 
conduct — He will follow wherever the Lord goes, for 
he cannot lead him astray : but he will not be found 
where the Lord refuses to accompany him, or he 
cannot consistently invite his presence to go with him. 
Let us pass from the nature to the excellency of this 
course. 

In walking with God there is honour. It is the 
dignity of man, that he alone, of all creatures in this 
world, is capable of it : but the Christian only actually 
enjoys it. In consequence of this, the righteous is 
more excellent than his neighbour. He is raised up 
from the dust and the dunghill, and placed, not only 
among princes, but in company with God himself. 
How would the poor deem themselves honoured if 
permitted to walk at liberty with their Sovereign ! 
But such honour have all the saints — They walk with 
the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and 
the Lord of lords. 

In walking with God there is safety. Woe unto us 



May 19.— Evening. 315 

if our adversaries find us away from him, for without 
him we can do nothing. But what confidence and 
courage should not his presence inspire ! He is not 
only for me, but with me; he is at my right hand, 
therefore I shall not be moved. If the enemy assails 
me, it is in the sight of my almighty helper. Yea, 
if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I 
will fear no evil, for he is with me. When I first fled 
to him breathless, from a thousand dangers at my 
heels, he said to me, as David to Ahimelech : " abide 
with me, for he that seeketh thy life seeketh my life ; 
but with me thou shalt be in safeguard." 

There is pleasure in walking with God. For with 
him is the fountain of life, and in his light we shall see 
light. If the journey would prove discouraging, our 
intercourse with him relieves the tediousness of the 
road, prevents weariness, revives our droopings, and 
renews our strength. With him we can dispense with 
things, the loss of which would otherwise destroy all 
our peace and comfort. When the fig-tree does not 
blossom, and there is no fruit in the vine, we can 
rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of our salvation. 
In all our personal and relative trials, his presence 
opens an asylum; and we enter where the wicked 
cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest. 

There is profit in walking with Grod. Where is the 
believer who cannot acknowledge, "It is good for me 
to draw nigh to God?" The mind is powerfully 
affected by the objects with which it is very familiar. * 
He who is much engaged in ignoble pursuits will soon 
be debased : but we are elevated in the presence and 
contemplation of greatness and sublimity. The things 
of earth tend to sensualize us : but when we are with' 
God the inroads of the world are checked; we stand 



316 May 19.— Evening. 

on holy ground ; impure desires and vain thoughts fall 
off. Our attention is fixed upon the perfections and 
blessedness of Jehovah, and we admire, and adore, and 
love, and resemble him. We feel the transforming 
views of his character, and are changed into the same 
image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the 
Lord. People take knowledge of us that we have been, 
with Jesus ; and our profiting appears unto all men. 
And as the nearer the fountain the purer the stream, 
and the nearer the centre the more powerful the 
attraction ; so, the nearer we are to God the more will 
all our religious principles be influenced, the more we 
shall grow in grace, the more will our conversation be 
in heaven. 

Let us not then sacrifice our highest welfare in dis- 
regarding this attainment. The vessels of mercy are 
afore prepared unto glory. "We must be made meet 
for the inheritance of the saints in light. What would 
many find heaven, if they were admitted into it, but 
a melancholy and miserable state? Could they enjoy 
the perpetual presence of God who cannot endure even 
the occasional thought of him ? How wise as well as 
merciful is the scheme of God in the Gospel ! He 
never advances us without making us capable of the 
promotion ! A king may elevate a slave to a superior 
station, but he cannot give him the suitableness and 
sufficiency for it. But God, when he changes our 
condition, changes our nature too. Before he brings 
us to heaven, he makes us heavenly : he draws forth 
our desires after it, and enables us to delight in the 
elements and beginnings of it — We walk with him in 
a way of grace, and in token of, and in preparation 
for, our walking with him in glory ; according to the 
promise, "They Shall walk with me in white, 



May 20— Morning. 317 



MAY 20.— MORNING. 

" Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." 

2 Cor. ix. 15. 

This gratitude, no doubt, must be due, infinitely 
due. Yet, to excite and increase our thankfulness, it 
is desirable to know, not only that the Son of God has 
been given for us, but to us ; and that he is now actu- 
ally our own. There are some who are satisfied here. 
They can say. This is my beloved, and this is my 
friend : the strength of my heart, and my portion for 
ever. But this is not the case with all. Some are 
asking, with all the anxiousness the importance of the 
subject requires, Is this unspeakable gift, for which 
eternity will be too short to praise God, mine? In 
answer to which allow me to ask, 

Do you approve of the design for which he was 
given ? He came into the world to save sinners, in a 
way equally gracious and holy. Do you acquiesce in 
a purpose which involves the destruction of self and 
sin ? 

Have you received him? In the word and means 
of grace he is presented to us. We read of some who 
have received Christ Jesus the Lord ; and as many as 
received him were privileged to become the sons of 
God. Has this act been yours? When Laban saw 
Abraham's servant laden with presents, he said, 
"Come in, thou blessed of the Lord" — Did you ever 
give Christ such an invitation? " Zaccheus made 
haste, and came down, and received him joyfully " — 
Did you ever give him such a welcome? And are 
you willing to receive him wholly? For is Christ 
divided ? Can you receive him as your prophet, and 
not as your king? as your priest, and not as your 



318 May 20.— Moening. 

example? Can you enjoy him in his sacrifice, and 
refuse him in his service ? Can you entertain him in 
spiritual privileges, and cast him out in spiritual 
duties ? 

Have you given yourselves to him ? I do not say, 
your substance only, or your time only. You may 
subscribe to religious institutions, and attend the 
means of grace — and keep back the main thing. But 
have you given him yourselves? The Corinthians 
gave their ownselves unto the Lord — Can you re- 
member such a surrender? An evening perhaps — 
when, like Isaac, in the field you said, "Lord, I am 
thine, save me." The close of a Sabbath, perhaps — 
when, in your closet, you read, and wept, and kneeled 
— and then rose, and wept, and kneeled again, and 
said — "0 Lord, other lords beside thee have had do- 
minion over me — henceforth by thee only will I make 
mention of thy Name." 

Do you supremely prize him ? To them that be- 
lieve, he is precious. Paul longed to depart to be 
with — James? Isaiah? Moses? No — but to be with 
Jesus. You have some who are dear to you on earth ; 
you have more in heaven. Perhaps you have a child ; 
lovely here, but a cherub" there. Perhaps you have 
a mother there, whose knees were the altar on which 
you laid your little hands to pray. Perhaps you have 
there the dear minister who turned your feet into the 
paths of peace — But, thinking of him, can you say, 
" Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none 
on earth I desire beside thee?" — Answer these in- 
quiries, and claim this unspeakable gift as your own 
for ever. 

- — But here is another question : What use should 
the possessor make of this Gift? If you are Christians, 



May 20. — Evening. 319 

though you were once darkness, you are now light 
in the Lord, and must walk as children of light. 
And much of your wisdom must appear in knowing 
what a prize you have in your hand. — Make use of 
him, then, in all your duties. Meditation is a duty 
— Let him enrich, and enliven, and sweeten it. — ■ 
Prayer is a duty — Pray always in his Name. — Make 
use of him in all your wants. You want cleansing — 
use him as the fountain open for sin and uncleanness. 
You want safety — flee to him as your refuge. You 
want food — and his flesh is meat indeed, and his 
blood is drink indeed — feed on it. — Make use of him 
in all your afflictions. Are you bereaved? are you 
poor ? Eely upon him, in whom you possess all things. 
You know that your Eedeemer liveth. 

— We have one question more — What can we think 
of those who disregard this unspeakable gift ? What 
can we think of their ingenuousness — in contemning 
such infinite goodness and mercy ? Of their danger ? 
— How can they escape if they neglect so great salva- 
tion? Of their misery? — What can a wretch do with- 
out him in death? and at the judgment-day? 

It is awful to think that the Saviour may become 
the destroyer. The greatest blessing may prove the 
greatest curse. 

MAY 20.— EVENING. 

" There standetli one among you, whom ye know not." 

John i. 26. 

This was the language of John at Bethabara beyond 
Jordan, where he was baptizing. It was addressed 
to many of the Jews who were assembled before him, 
among whom were Priests and Levites from Jerusalem, 
sent to inquire who he was. After disclaiming that 



320 May 20.— Evening. 

Ae; was any thing more than "the voice of one crying 
in the wilderness," he intimates the arrival of a person- 
age on the spot, very superior to himself, and for 
whom he was unworthy to perform an office the most 
menial — "There standeth one among you, whom ye 
know not.' 7 

It is needless to mention who this wonderful Being 
was — But we see that our Lord had nothing in his 
outward appearance to distinguish him from others. 
As to his character, he was fairer than the children of 
men, and altogether lovely : but he was "clothed in 
a body like our own;" and "in all things" was 
" made like unto his brethren." Had we passed him 
upon the road, we should have taken him for a com- 
mon man. No rays of glory encircled his head. No 
surprising beauty marked his features — "His face was 
marred more than any man's, and his form more than 
the sons of men." Least of all would he have been 
distinguished by a particular garb. His coat was 
indeed seamless, woven from the top throughout ; but 
this was no observable thing. Wisdom is an enemy 
to affectation and eccentricity^ and real greatness is 
never anxious for show, being satisfied with the. con- 
sciousness of its own claims without the acknowledge- • 
ments of others. 

There is much excellency in the world that is un- 
known. In nature there is many a rich vein of ore 
concealed beneath a rude surface ; and many a flower 
that blooms unseen in the woods, and sheds its fra- 
grance " on the desert air." Learning and genius are 
often buried in obscurity. The same may be said of 
moral and religious qualities. We are not to measure 
or number the instances of godliness by our personal 
observation. God has his hidden ones. Who has 



May 20.— Evening. 321 

not been surprised as well as delighted in travelling to 
discover frequently individuals walking in the truth 
in situations the most unlikely and unpromising? 
Abraham said of Gerar, " Surely the fear of God is 
not in this place ?" but he found it there. Elias said, 
"I am left alone;" but there were "seven thousand 
who had not bowed the knee to the image of Baal." 
"Who," says the Church, "has begotten me these ?" 
" These, where have they been ?" 

From hence Christians need not wonder at the little 
notice frequently taken of them. They are princes, 
but in disguise. The day of their manifestation is 
coming ; and then shall the righteous shine forth as 
the sun in the kingdom of their Father. But now 
they are seen poor, and afflicted, and despised : and 
little do the multitude imagine that they are heirs 
of God ; the charge of angels ; the chariots of Israel 
and the horsemen thereof; the salt of the earth, and 
the light of the world. And herein the members are 
only conformable to the head. " He was in the world, 
and the world was made by him, and the world knew 
him not" — " Therefore the world knoweth us not, 
because it knew him not." 

There are many, we have reason to fear, who are in 
the same condition with John's attendants. Jesus is 
" among" them. And he is "standing" among them 
—a posture of attention — and a posture of readiness 
to depart. But they "know" him "not." They 
read of him, and hear of him ; but they do not " see 
the Son, and believe on him." They are not spiritu- 
ally and savingly acquainted with him. If they were, 
they would put their trust in him ; they would love 
him ; they would obey him ; they would count all 
things but loss for the excellency of his knowledge ; 
14* 



322 May 20.— Evening. 

and be changed into the same image from glory to 
glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

Now this ignorance is very deplorable ; and the 
reason is because of the unspeakable importance of 
the object. We may be ignorant of many things, and 
yet be safe and happy : but to be ignorant of Christ is 
as if the pursued manslayer of old had been ignorant 
of the city of refuge ; or as if a dying patient was ignor- 
ant of the only remedy that could cure him — People 
perish for lack of this knowledge. It is also criminal. 
Hence Paul says to those who are destitute of this 
knowledge, "I speak this to your shame." Their 
ignorance could only be their shame, as it was their 
sin ; and it could not have been their sin unless it 
had been avoidable. 

The knowledge therefore is attainable. Happy 
they who possess it, and can say, " We know that the 
Son of God is come, and hath given us an understand- 
ing, that we may know him that is true, and we are 
in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ ; this 
is the true God, and eternal life." But why should 
any despair? The blind man could not open his 
own eyes : but the Saviour was passing by ; and he 
cried, " Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on 
me;" and "straightway he received sight, and fol- 
lowed him in the way." You must be taught of 
Grod ; and it is the Spirit alone that can guide you into 
all truth. But, " if any man lack wisdom, let him 
ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and up 
braideth not ; and it shall be given him." 



May 21. — Morning. 323 



MAY 21.— MORNING. 

"That I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in 
vain, neither laboured in vain. " Phil. ii. 16. 

This is mentioned as an argument, to enforce the 
duties he had just recommended; " Do all things 
without murmurings and disputings : that ye may be 
blameless and harmless, the sons of Grod, without re- 
buke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, 
among whom ye shine as lights in the world: holding 
forth the word of life." And surely we are to know 
them that labour among us ; and to esteem them very 
highly in love for their works' sake; and to co- 
operate with them and to be zealously concerned to 
promote their usefulness and comfort — There is a 
peculiar relation between the minister and the people 
of his charge ; and as a well-conditioned flock is the 
credit of the shepherd ; and a well-ordered family, the 
commendation of the master ; and the moral and pros- 
perous state of his subjects, the praise of the ruler : so 
a wise, holy, consistent, amiable, lively, useful church 
is the honour and happiness of the preacher — He lives, 
if they standfast in the Lord. They are his glory and 

joy- 
But why, for this satisfaction, does the Apostle re- 
fer" to so late a period as the day of Christ ? Had he 
no present rejoicing, from their excellences and exer- 
tions ? He had. Yet he knew that he must now re^ 
joice with trembling. He had known many who dj4 
run well, but were hindered ; who began in the Spirit, 
but ended in the flesh. He had seen many moral 
blossoms perishing without fruit; and experience 
taught him to distinguish between the hope of the 



324 May 21. — Morning. 

spring and the richness of autumn. Persons for a 
season may rejoice in a minister's light, but in time of 
tempation fall away. They may hang on his lips, and 
then break his heart. He only that endureth to the 
end shall be saved. Then are we made partakers 
of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence 
stedfast unto the end — and "the day will declare it." 

Arfd till then the true character and condition of 
those among whom he has laboured, will not be com- 
pletely ascertained and developed. 

Till then, also, his hearers will not be placed beyond 
the reach of moral harm; or be incapable of injuring 
the cause they profess. 

Till then, also, his aim will not be fully accom- 
plished; which is, to "present every man perfect in 
Christ Jesus," and " filled with all the fulness of God." 

Then, also, many will acknowledge their obligations 
to his instrumentality, for their conversion or edifica- 
tion, which he knew nothing of here. And it will be 
safer and better for him not to know the extent and 
degree of his usefulness, till he is secure from the 
possibility of vanity and pride — Then is the period 
for rejoicing, when there can be no mistake, no excess, 
no danger, in the joy. 

Oh ! may he that watches for my soul, as one that 
must give an account, do it with joy, and not with 
grief! — 

What a proof is here that there will be a knowledge 
of each other in heaven ! How else could the Apostle 
say of converts, " What is our hope, or joy, or crown 
of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the presence of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming?" 



May 21. — Evening. 325 

MAY 21.— EVENING. 
"And from thence we came to Philippi." Acts xvi. 12. 

"I SAY unto yon, that there is joy in the presence 
of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." 
Nothing can more powerfully imply, or express the 
importance of conversion, than this declaration of 
the Saviour, the faithful and true witness. However 
lightly or contemptuously conversion may be thought 
of among men, celestial beings, proverbial for their 
wisdom and incapable of mistake, always behold it 
with wonder and delight. With them, the improve- 
ments of art, the discoveries of philosophy, the ex- 
ploits of heroes, the revolutions of empires, are com- 
paratively nothing to the salvation of a soul. In their 
view, the release of Israel from the land of Egypt and 
the house of bondage, and their march through the 
wilderness to the land of Canaan, was a sight far less 
glorious and impressive, than the deliverance of a 
sinner from the power of darkness, and his translation 
into the kingdom of God's dear Son. At the first 
creation, the morning stars sang together, and all the 
sons of God shouted for joy : but they sing a new song, 
and with peculiar rapture, at the second, when old 
things pass away, and all things become morally and 
spiritually new. 

Luke the historian was like-minded. He here 
speaks of his coming with Paul and Silas to Philippi. 
Philippi was built by Philip, the father of Alexander. 
From the beginning it had been noted : but within 
comparatively a recent period it had been rendered 
exceedingly remarkable, by the two great battles which 
the Romans fought in its plains. In the' one, Julius 



326 May 21.— Evening. 

Caesar vanquished Pompev. In the other, Octavius 
Augustus defeated Brutus and Cassius. Though e very- 
battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and gar- 
ments rolled in blood, and produces so much misery, 
it is painful to think what a power it has always had 
to excite and interest the attention. What traveller 
that has passed through Waterloo has been able to 
forbear speaking of the eighteenth of June! But 
Luke says nothing of the work of Philip, of the prowess 
of Caesar, of the fortune of Augustus! But he 
mentions what would immortalize the place in the 
annals of the soul and eternity — The conversions of 
two individuals — Lydia and the jailor. Lydia was 
amiable and moral ; a proselyte to the Jewish religion ; 
and a worshipper of the true God. The jailor was a 
heathen ; an idolator ; vicious in his disposition ; as 
rude and savage in his soul as in his office. The con- 
version of the one was in answer to prayer, gentle, 
gradual, imperceptible in the progress, but obvious 
in its result. The conversion of the other was sudden, 
extraordinary in the circumstances, and accompanied 
with terror and anguish. She was overcome by the 
smiles of mercy, and drawn by the cords of love. He, 
with the arrows of the Almighty sticking fast in him, 
and with a wounded spirit which he could not bear, 
was dragged to the judgment-seat, looking only for 
the sentence of condemnation. Her heart the Lord 
opened, as the sun opens a flower in spring. His heart 
was stormed like a citadel, where the strong man 
armed kept his palace and his goods in peace. 

Hence we see by what various methods divine grace 
operates upon different persons ; and learn how im- 
proper it is to lay down any one of them as a rule from 
which there is no exception. Let us not judge of the 



May 22. — Morning. 327 

reality of the religion of others by an invariable 
standard ; or draw a conclusion against ourselves, that 
we are strangers to a work of grace, because we have 
not been led in the same way with others. The 
Saviour may come in the roar of the storm : but his 
presence and agency are no less real, in the still small 
voice. Samuel was called by grace as well as Ma- 
nasseh: and Watts was saved by grace as well as 
Bunyan. "There are differences of administration, 
but the same Lord. And there . are diversities of 
operations : but it is the same God which worketh all 
in all." 

The surest and best way to judge is not by the 
manner in which the change has been accomplished, 
but by the effects produced and remaining. And 
happy they who are able, whatever that is curious or 
minute may perplex them, to say, one thing 1 know, 
that whereas I was blind, I now see ; whereas I was 
once dead, I am now alive. 



MAY 22.— MORNING. 
"Justified by the faith of Christ." Gal. ii. 16. 

Let me remark here the blessing and the way in 
which it is obtained. 

What is justification? It is not the making us 
righteous in person, but in state. The Papists con- 
found it with sanctification ; and some Protestants do 
the same. But justification stands opposed to con- 
demnation. It is the absolving a man from a charge : 
the acquitting him when accused; and pronouncing 
him righteous. Only as we are really guilty — we 



328 May 22.— Morning. 

cannot be justified by disproving the offence, but by 
the non-imputation of it, and treating us as innocent. 
The manner is described by the Apostle: "we are 
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus, whom (rod hath set forth as a 
propitiation for sin." The blessing is full and com- 
plete: for we "are justified from all things." It is 
permanent and irreversible : "Their sins and iniquities 
will I remember no more." It is also a present benefit. 
The perception of it may be wanting; but the state is 
real : they have passed from death unto life : they are 
accepted in the Beloved. And blessed, says David, is 
the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is 
covered. Blessed in his duties. Blessed in his com- 
forts. Blessed in his trials. For him affliction has no 
curse. Death, no sting. Eternity, no terror. 

This inestimable blessing is obtained by the faith of 
Christ. We are often curious, and ask for reasons 
when we should be satisfied with facts. It is not 
necessary to be able to explain precisely how faith 
j ustifies the soul. It should be enough for us to know 
that it is a truth clearly revealed. 

And since, my soul, none are justified that do 
not believe ; and all that believe are justified ; let me 
apply my heart unto wisdom. Instead of losing 
myself in subtle inquiries and angry disputes, let me 
do two things — Let me observe, first, the importance 
of this faith. It is, in a sober sense, as important as 
Christ. What, therefore, is ascribed to him merito- 
riously, is ascribed to faith instrumentally. He is the 
well ; but by faith we draw water out of it. He is 
the refuge ; but a refuge cannot screen us, unless it be 
entered. He is the bread of life; but food cannot 



May 22.— Evening. 329 

nourish us, unless it be eaten — and all this is done by 
faith only. 

Let me, secondly, ask, seriously and earnestly, have 
/ this faith of Christ ? Do I believe the record, that 
Grod hath given us eternal life, and that this life is in 
his Son ? ' And am I repairing to him ; and trusting 
in him alone for salvation ? How does my faith sow ? 
Does it "sow in tears?" How does it rejoice? Does 
it " rejoice in Christ Jesus?" and has it " no confidence 
in the flesh?" How does it work? Does it "work 
by love ?" How does it travel ? How plead ? Can 
I say, " I will go in the strength of the Lord God ; I 
will make mention of his righteousness only?" 

MAY 22.— EVENING. 

"He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the 
majesty of the name of the Lord his God." Micah v. 4. 

If it be asked, of whom speaketh the prophet this ? 
the words immediately preceding will furnish an 
answer ; for they announce the birth of our Saviour 
in Bethlehem, and call him the ruler in Israel, whose 
goings forth have been from of old from everlasting- 
Micah refers to him under the implied character of the 
Shepherd of his people, and expresses his work — 

He shall "feed." The term is not to be confined to 
his furnishing his flock with food; but to be taken as 
including the discharge of the pastoral office in all its 
parts : his causing them to rest — his leading them — 
his restoring them when they go astray — his healing 
them when wounded or sick — his defending and se- 
curing them. But observe the manner in which he is 
to perform his work. 

He is to do it diligently and attentively — He shall 



330 May 22.— Evening. 

stand and feed. We read of shepherds who lie down, 
loving to slumber. And even the most dutiful and 
sedulous shepherd sometimes unbends; he must have 
his moments and hours of relaxation and repose, dur- 
ing which his vigilance is suspended. But Jesus is 
always in a posture of observance and care : his sheep 
graze or repose beneath his look ; he withdraweth not 
his eyes from the righteous. He that keepeth Israel 
neither slumbers nor sleeps. 

He is to do it ably and powerfully — He shall feed 
in the strength of the Lord. On earth he had power 
to forgive sins, and heal all manner of diseases, and 
call by his word whom he would, and they came unto 
him. He said to Zaccheus in the tree, Make haste 
and come down; and to Matthew at the receipt of 
custom, Follow me ; and immediately they obeyed him. 
Has he less power now he is in heaven? He has 
power given him over all flesh, that he should give 
eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him. 
It is their happiness to know that they are under the 
charge of one who is mighty to save; able to save 
unto the uttermost. Their weakness requires this; 
their condition requires it. They are surrounded 
with enemies. Many of them are visible ; but if our 
eyes were open to see the invisible, we should be 
convinced that we could not be for an instant safe but 
as we are kept by the power of God. David, re- 
minded of his inequality to the foe he was willing to 
fight, said unto Saul ; " Thy servant kept his father's 
sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a 
lamb out of the flock ; and I went out after him, and 
smote him, and delivered him out of his mouth : and 
when he rose against me, I caught him by his beard, 
and smote him, and slew him." And what said the 



May 22. — Evening. 331 

Saviour? "My sheep hear my voice, and I know 
them, and they follow me, and I give unto them 
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall 
any pluck them out of my hand." His people do not 
always apprehend this ; their fears are often great be- 
cause their faith is small ; and they draw the conclu- 
sion that they shall one day perish. At other times 
they can realize it ; and then they feel secure, though 

in the midst of danger, and can say with Paul " I 

know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that 
he is able to keep that which I have committed to him 
against that day." 

He is to do it with grace and dignity — He shall feed 
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. It 
does not refer to a temporal and worldly majesty. 
This he did not possess. He was born in a stable and 
laid in a manger. He was a man of sorrows. He was 
crucified as a slave and malefactor. Thus he had no 
form nor comeliness, nor any beauty, that they should 
desire him. Yet even then there were those who be- 
held his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of 
the Father, full of grace and truth. One of these could 
say, "We were eye-witnesses of his majesty" — He 
refers peculiarly to his transfiguration, when his face 
did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white 
and glistering, and Moses and Elias appeared in glory 
talking with him, and a voice from heaven cried, This 
is my beloved Son, hear ye him. Compared with 
this, how poor, how mean is the pomp of a king on 
the most splendid of his court days ! His kingdom is 
not of this world. 

Action is graceful when art is concealed, and ease 
and nature seem only to appear. Longinus admires 
as an example of the sublime, the sentence, " Let 



332 May 22.— Evening. 

there be light, and there was light :" and nothing can 
be more striking than the immensity of the effect 
joined to the simplicity of the cause. How far was 
Jesus from parade and effort in all his miracles ! 
"With what facility did he accomplish his mighty 
works — yet with what amazing gentleness and tender- 
ness too ! 

Majesty is here connected with strength. Power is 
not always dignified in the possession or the display. 
Some conscious of their force are concerned for nothing 
else. They only think of coercion : they delight to 
intimidate : they would rather be feared than loved ; 
but these are vulgar and base spirits. Paul speaks of 
the excellency of the power which is of God. And 
had not Jesus this very power ? How mildly, how 
kindly he exerted himself! He came down like rain 
upon the mown grass. He broke not the bruised 
reed, nor quenched the smoking flax. He paused to 
hear the cry of a beggar by the wayside, and com- 
manded him to be brought to him. He raised the 
widow's son, and presented him to his mother. Grace 
was poured into his lips. Oh ! to have heard the tone 
with which he said, " Woman, thy sins are forgiven 
thee" — " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Yes, the 
world might have seen that Deity was come down in 
the likeness of men. What could be before them but 
the image of the invisible God ? 

But " with God is terrible majesty." This always 
Jesus displayed. His day is called the day of ven- 
geance of our God : the great and terrible day of the 
Lord. Who, asks Malachi, shall abide the day of his 
coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth ! He 
detected hypocrisy. He separated between the right- 



May 23.— Morning. 333 

eous and the wicked. He denounced Chorazin, Beth- 
saida, and Capernaum, because thej repented not. He 
doomed Jerusalem to war and desolation, because she 
knew not the day of her visitation. And never will 
he fail to shew that he is not to be insulted, or even 
neglected with impunity. He is holy as well as pa- 
tient; just as well as merciful. Nothing is represented 
so dreadful as the wrath of the Lamb : " For the great 
clay of his wrath is come ; and who shall be able to 
stand?" 



MAY 23.— MORNING. 

" Be not ye called Rabbi ; for one is your master, even Christ ; 
and all ye are brethren." Matt, xxiii. 8. 

Eabbi signifies Master ; not a domestic or civil 
master, having servants or subjects under him ; but 
a master of pupils ; a leader, a teacher, having disci- 
ples who admire and follow him. It was not an 
ancient title : we scarcely read of it before the coming 
of the Messiah. The Scribes and Pharisees were ex 
ceedingly fond of this name. "They love," says our 
Lord, " greetings in the markets, and to be called of 
men, Eabbi, rabbi." " But," adds he, " be not ye 
called Eabbi." 

The Apostles followed this admonition. " We have 
no dominion," said they, " over your faith, but are 
helpers of your joy." They did not lord it over God's 
heritage, but fed them with knowledge and under- 
standing ; and were ensamples to the flock. They con- 
sidered themselves as messengers, deriving all their 
authority from their employer ; and always referred 
their people from themselves to him. They delivered 



334 May 23.— -Morning. 

nothing but what they had received ; and called upon 
those they addressed, not to believe in them impli- 
citly, but to search the Scriptures ; to prove all things ; 
and hold fast that which was good. They were offended 
if persons thought too highly of them, or wished to be 
named after them. "Was Paul crucified for you? or 
were ye baptized in the name of Paul ? Who then is 
Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye 
believed, even as God gave to every man ?" " So, then, 
neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he tha: 
watereth ; but God that giveth the increase." 

It is now hardly possible to avoid religious names ; 
but we lament that they were ever introduced. Why 
should parties be called Calvinists, Arminians, Luther- 
ans, Baxterians, or by any other denomination ? If 
the sentiments held by any of these men are not found 
in the Sacred Writings, they are not binding upon the 
conscience, whoever sanctions them ; and if they are, 
why should it be intimated that they have any other 
origin ? Let us be satisfied with the words the Holy 
Ghost useth, without attaching salvation or damna- 
tion to men's definitions of them. The documents 
are divine and infallible ; but who can pronounce the 
explications to be so ? 

If we call ourselves by the name of any human au- 
thority, let it be an inspired one. Let us call ourselves 
Paulites, after Paul ; or Johnites, after John. But no. 
The worthy name by which we will be called, is Christ- 
ians — after Christ. All we are brethren — but he is 
our Master ; and the voice from the most excellent 
glory cries, " Hear ye him. 1 '' His authority was proved 
by miracles, wonders, and signs. In him are hid all 
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All he de- 
livers to us is truth — truth unmixed with error — truth 



May 23. — Evening. 335 

of the mightiest importance — truth that can make us 
free — truth that can make us holy — truth that can 
make us blessed — for evermore. And as to the mode 
of his tuition, none teaches like him; so tenderly; 
so effectually ; so perseveringly. 

— Will ye also go away ? Lord, to whom should 
we go but unto thee? 

— Will ye also be his disciples ? O my soul ! re- 
fuse not the privilege. Henceforth may I hear — him, 
watching daily at his gates, and waiting at the posts 
of his doors. Lead me in thy truth, and guide me ; 
for thou art the God of my salvation : on Thee do I 
wait all the day. 

MAY 23.— EVENING. 

" Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near." 

Isaiah lvii. 19. 

Here is the proclamation of the Gospel — Peace, 
peace. From this lovely word the Gospel derives its 
name audits character: it is called "the Gospel of 
Peace." Peace is sometimes used in the Scripture for 
well-being, or happiness at large : but here it is to be 
taken in its most appropriate signification, as holding 
forth the idea of reconciliation. Eeconciliation with 
whom? With God through the mediation of him 
who loved us, and gave himself for us — " God was in 
Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not impu- 
ting their trespasses unto them." We have offended 
and provoked him, and he could have righteously de- 
stroyed us : we have no claims upon his pity ; and 
had we been told that he was forming a purpose con- 
cerning us, and was about to send a special messen- 
ger, yea, even his own Son into the revolted province, 



336 May 23.— Evening. 

what would have been the forebodings of our guilty 
consciences ! "But Grod sent not his own Son into 
the world to condemn the world, but that the world 
through him should be saved." And it is not the 
language of vengeance we hear from his messengers, 
War, war! — but "Peace, peace!" He does not wait 
for our repentance and submission, but of his own will 
he forms and accomplishes the plan. There were diffi- 
culties in the way of our restoration to his favour ; 
these he removes : a sacrifice was necessary ; this he 
provides — He spared not his own Son, but delivered 
him up for us all. He made him to be sin for us who 
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness 
of God in him. And thus having opened a new and 
living way into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, he 
arrays himself as the Grod of love, and comes and in- 
vites us to return. We were hid among the trees of 
the garden, whither fear had urged us, and the voice 
of thunder would have driven us farther in ; but the 
small still voice of pardon, assuring us that with the 
Lord there is mercy, and with him plenteous redemp- 
tion, draws us forth to his feet, and we are accepted 
in the Beloved. 

Too well we know, from observation and experience, 
the evils of war. Who has not felt the wretchedness 
of discord? Who has not tasted the bitterness of 
alienation ? And who has not relished the luxury of 
restored sentiments of kindness, tenderness, and friend- 
ship ? — Let Mm judge of the joy and peace of believing ! 
Yet what is peace with a brother, a friend, a father, a 
king, compared with peace with Grod ! In his favour 
is life. Who can describe or imagine the calm after 
such a storm ? It is a peace which passeth all under- 
standing. It is angels' food — It is more. They never 



May 23. — Evening. 337 

felt a certain fearful looking-for of judgment, and fiery 
indignation. They never knew a wounded spirit and 
the anguish of despair, upon which descended, with 
healing under its wings, a hope full of immortality. 
But the Christian, throwing the arm of faith around 
the cross, can say, "We joy in God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the 
atonement" " O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou 
wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and 
thou comfortedst me." 

But to whom is it addressed? " Peace, peace to 
him that is far off, and to Mm that is nearT This im- 
mediately regards the Gentiles and the Jews, as we 
are assured by the Apostle, who, speaking expressly 
of these parties, says, "He is our peace, who hath 
made both one, and hath broken down the middle 
wall of partition between us, and came and preached 
peace to you which were afar off, and to them that 
were nigh." The Jews were a people nigh unto him, 
not as to his essential presence, but his special and 
gracious. He resided among them; they had his 
oracles, his house, his ordinances, his servants. The 
Gentiles were far off, because they were strangers to 
all these privileges, and without God in the world. 
But Christianity knows no outward distinctions; it 
regards men as creatures in the same fallen condition, 
and brings them health and cure. " The Scripture 
saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be 
ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew 
and the Greek : for the same Lord over all is rich unto 
all that call upon him." 

By a parity of reasoning, this distinction will include 
other classes. They who are far off, and they that are 
nigh, represent persons possessing certain privileges, 
15 



338 May 23.— Evening. 

or destitute of them. Some are nigh — That is, they 
were born of godly parents ; they were piously educat- 
ed : from children they have known the Holy Scrip- 
tures. Others are far off — That is, they are the children 
of irreligious parents, who teach them to swear, but 
not to pray ; and lead them into sin, but never go one 
step before them in the way everlasting. 

Some are nigh — They are moral in their lives, 
amiable in their tempers, teachable in their disposition ; 
they seem as free from prejudice as from vice, and 
only require information and decision. Of such an one, 
our Saviour said, " Thou art not far from the kingdom 
of Grod." Others are far off — They are grossly wicked 
and abandoned, despisers of those that are good, pro- 
faners of the Sabbath, swearers, drunkards, and seem 
beyond the reach of reformation. 

Some are nigh — They are the young, whose lives 
are free from care and trouble, whose understandings 
are not yet filled with error, whose consciences are 
not yet seared as with a hot iron, whose hearts are 
not yet hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, 
whose memories are retentive, and whose affections 
are tender and lively. Others are far off — They are 
the old, whose dispositions are inveterate, whose vices 
are deep rooted, whose habits of evil have become a 
second nature — " Can the Ethiopian change his skin, 
or the leopard his spots?" " With man it is im- 
possible ; but with God all things are possible." 

We could enlarge the number of cases. There are 
many who have advantages which others are denied. 
Some are rich and others are poor — But the unsearch- 
able riches of Christ are accessible to all. Some are 
learned, and others illiterate— But none can know 
divine things without a Divine teacher : and under his 



May 24.— Morning. 339 

teaching, the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not 
err therein. 

The proclamation of the Gospel is therefore ad- 
dressed to all, without exception. And there is the 
greatest propriety in this : for if its language was not 
universal : if there were any exclusions or omissions, 
awakened souls, sensible of their desert would be sure 
to appropriate them, and conclude that they had no 
part nor lot in the matter. But they cannot question 
whether they are sinners ; and Jesus Christ came into 
the world to save sinners. They cannot question 
whether they have been spending their money for 
that which is not bread, and their labour for that 
which satisfieth not ; but these are invited to hear, that 
their souls may live. The Gospel affords a complete 
warrant for every man to believe on the Son of God. 
We are surely nigh or* afar off: but the command is, 
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
earth." 



MAY 24.— MORNING. 

"I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyonn 
Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon." Deut. iii. 25. 

This desire seemed improper. For God had ex- 
pressly said unto Moses and Aaron, "Because ye 
believed me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the 
children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this 
congregation into the land which I have given them." 
"We are poor creatures, and often insensibly transfer 
to God the effects of our own feeling and conduct. 
Did Moses, then, through infirmity, think that God 
was changeable ? ISTo : but he thought the threatening 



340 May 24.— Morning. 

was not absolute ; especially as it was not ratified by 
an oath, as the exclusion of the people was. For many 
of God's denunciations, as we see, for instance, in the 
sentence with regard to Ninevah, have a condition 
implied, though, not expressed. They will be executed 
unless repentance intervenes. Upon this principle it 
was possible for Moses to hope for a retraction of the 
interdict. 

But the desire was a very natural one. It was 
natural for him to desire to enter Canaan, even as an 
object of curiosity, of which he had heard so much ; 
but still more as an object of hope, which had been 
so long promised, with every enhancement. This it 
was that had animated the people to leave Egypt. 
This had encouraged them in all their travels in the 
desert. This was the end, the recompense of all 
their toils and sufferings for forty years. And they 
had now nearly reached it ! How painful to miss the 
prize— when the hand was in the very act of seizing 
it; and to have the cup dashed — even from the 
lip! 

Yet the desire was refused. And the Lord said 
unto him, Let it suffice thee — speak no more to me of 
this matter. For he sometimes refuses the desires of 
his servants, and the most eminent and endeared of 
them too. And he does this in two ways. Sometimes 
he does it in love. He denies, because what is desired 
would prove dangerous and injurious. We should 
think badly of a father, who, if a son asked bread, 
would give him a stone ; or, if he asked a fish, would 
give a scorpion. But suppose, through ignorance, his 
son should ask for a scorpion instead of a fish ; or 
suppose he should cry for a sharp instrument ; or beg 
to climb up a ladder ; would he love his child then, 



May 24. — Morning. 341 

unless he rejected his wish ? In how many cases must 
a wise and good parent distinguish between a child's 
wishes and his wants ! He may wish for liberty ; but 
he wants restraint ; he may wish for holidays ; but he 
wants schooling : he may wish for dainties ; but he 
wants medicine— Here the love of the parent must 
appear acting, not according to the wish, but welfare 
of his child. How well would it have been for the 
Jews had God more than once turned a deaf ear to 
their importunity ! They would have a king — and he 
" gave them a king in his anger, and took him away 
in his wrath." They would have flesh — and he gave 
them their hearts' desire, but sent leanness into their 
souls. On the other hand, who does not see, in looking 
back upon life, how well for him it was that such a 
scheme failed ; that such a hope was crushed ? How 
much evil lurked under the specious appearance, or 
would have resulted from the indulgence! Who 
knows what is good for a man in this life ? No one 
but God — the good God — 

" Good when He gives, supremely good ; 
Nor less when he denies : 
E'en crosses from his sov'reign hand 
Are blessings in disguise." 

He also sometimes refuses in anger. "Wrath is in- 
compatible with love ; but anger is not : anger may 
even flow from it. Though Christians cannot be con- 
demned, they may be chastened : and the law of the 
house is, that if his children walk not in his com- 
mandments, he will visit their transgression with a 
rod, and their iniquities with stripes. Hence those 
who shall be saved eternally, may lie under the present 
rebukes of Providence; and be refused manv things 



342 May 24.— Morning. 

on which they have set their heart, as to station, busi- 
ness, connexions, and usefulness. They may think 
hard of this at first ; but, as they discover its unworthi- 
ness and desert, they will bow to the dispensation, 
and say, with David, "I know, Lord, that thy 
judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast 
afflicted me." By such conduct, too, Providence reads 
lessons to others. See, it says, the evil of sin. See 
how severely God deals with it, even in his own people. 
And if these things are done in the green tree, what 
shall be done in the dry ! If judgment begins at the 
house of God, what shall the end be of them that obey 
not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ! And if the 
righteous scarcely are saved, where shall the ungodly 
and the sinner appear ! 

— Yet his desire was partially indulged: "Thou 
shalt not go over this Jordan ; but get thee up into the 
top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and 
northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold 
it with thine eyes." This was obviously intended, 
not to tantalize him, but to be a mitigation of the severe 
sentence. The preservation of his good sight to so 
great an age, fitted him for the gaze ; and, probably, it 
was also strengthened and enlarged for this very pur- 
pose. The prospect shewed him how worthy the 
country was of all that God had said concerning it ; 
and would give him high and honourable views of the 
truth and goodness of God, in his covenant with 
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. Along with this, 
too, there was exerted the influence of divine grace, 
which soothed and satisfied him. For by this God 
can make us easy and contented under the refusal or 
loss of any comfort, however essential to our happiness 
it appeared before: so that we- behave and quiet our- 



May 24.— Evening. ?43 

selves as a child that is weaned of his mother : our 
soul is even as a weaned child. While, also, his mind 
was raised to things above, and, in type and emblem, 
to a better country, into which he was immediately to 
enter. Then there would be no want of an earthly 
Canaan. 

— Thus, in the midst of judgment, He remembers 
mercy. Though he cause grief, yet will he have com- 
passion. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the 
Lord pitieth them that fear him : for he knoweth our 
frame ; he remembereth that we are dust. 



MAY 24.— EVENING 

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 

2 Cor. iii. 17. 

This is mentioned for two purposes. First, to 
characterize the Gospel. It is therefore called in the 
preceding verse "the ministration of the Spirit." 
Secondly, to describe the Christian. Natural men 
have not the Spirit, and if they make a profession of 
religion, it is only the form of godliness without the 
power — but Christians possess the Spirit. The Apostle 
takes this for granted in his Epistle to the Galatians, 
and therefore inquires not whether they had received 
the Spirit, but how they had received it: "Keceived 
ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the 
hearing of faith?" 

But how is it to be ascertained whether we are made 
partakers of the Holy Ghost? Observe the reasoning 
of David; "That thy Name is near, thy wondrous 
works declare." He proves the presence of God from 
the agency of God. We are to do the same here. 



844 May 24.— Evening. 

The residence of the Spirit is to be determined by the 
influences and operations of the Spirit. The Spirit 
makes those in whom he dwells "spiritual" — They 
" live in the Spirit" — and "walk in the Spirit" — and 
"worship God in the Spirit." — " Where the Spirit of 
the Lord is, there is the fruif of the Spirit ;" and the 
fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteous- 
ness, and truth. " Where the Spirit of the Lord is, 
there is liberty." 

Christians rejoice "in hope; "and there is a bless- 
sedness reserved for them in heaven called "the 
glorious liberty of the sons of God." But this is 
future ; and the Apostle says, where the Spirit of the 
Lord is — not there shall be — but there is liberty. 
What liberty? 

A freedom from SIN. There is something in the 
very sound of slavery that offends the ear and revolts 
the heart. Hence when our Lord spoke of making 
them free, the Jews answered, " We were never in 
bondage to any man ; and how sayest thou then ye 
shall be made free ?" Yet their whole history shewed 
that they had been in vassalage to all the nearer, and 
to many of the remoter powers ; and were even then 
a province of the Eoman empire, paying tribute unto 
Caesar. And thus men are unwilling to own that 
they are naturally enslaved. There is nothing they 
so glory in as their freedom. They despise or pity 
the godly as captives under the most melancholy and 
mortifying restraints ; and therefore say, " Let us break 
their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from 
us" — " With our lips will we prevail, our tongues are 
our own, who is the Lord over us?" But while they 
use great swelling words of vanity, they themselves 
also are the servants of corruption : for of whom a 



May 24.— Evening. 345 

"man is overcome, of the same is he brought into 
bondage." He that committeth sin is the servant of 
sin ; and of all wretches in the world he serves the 
worst tyrant, and is employed in the vilest drudgery. 
Sometimes, like a madman, he dances and sings in his 
chains. But this is not always the case. The hypo- 
crite may boast of pleasure which he never feels: 
but there is no peace unto the wicked. Not only is 
the end of these things death, but the way of trans- 
gressors is hard. Many effects, the natural produce 
of his iniquity, often makes him groan inwardly. 
Stung with remorse and shame, he sometimes says, I 
will be such a slave no more — I will be free. And he 
resolves, but it is in his own strength. He is therefore 
overcome, and bound faster than before; and fre- 
quently the result of these short-lived reformations, put 
off as long as possible, resorted to with reluctance, and 
hated in the performance, is, that the latter end is 
worse than the beginning. At best, he only exchanges 
one sin for another; and while he gives up grosser 
transgressions, he comes under the power of more 
" spiritual wickedness," pride, self-righteousness, and 
unbelief. But if the Son makes him free, he is free 
indeed — For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 
liberty. Thus the Apostle says to the Eomans; "Ye 
were the servants of sin, but have obeyed from the 
heart the form of doctrine which was delivered you." 
And "now being made free from sin, ye- became ser- 
vants unto God." " For he that is dead is freed from 
sin." He does not mean, freed from the very being 
of it — This would contradict the language of the 
Scripture at large, and make those sad whom God has 
commanded us to make merry. For what is the pain- 
ful experience of every believer ? He finds a law, 
15* 



346 May 24. — Evening. 

that when he would do good evil is present with him : 
he feels the sin that dwelleth in him: he groans, " 
wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death ?" But he is freed from the 
rule of it. It reigns in others, in their mortal bodies ; 
and they obey it in the lusts thereof: but from this 
Christians are delivered, and against the return of it 
they are secured : " Sin shall not have dominion over 
you ; for ye are not under the law, but under grace." 

They are also freed from the love of it. Persons 
may avoid that which is evil, and not abhor it. While 
inclination urges, authority may restrain, or the fear 
of consequences may deter. Many wish they could 
indulge themselves freely and safely in their criminal 
passi6ns and pursuits ; and therefore hate the law that 
forbids and threatens them. But Christians are not 
held back from sin against their wills ; they are morti- 
fied to it. They are dead to sin. They have seen the 
evil of it in the cross. Is it possible that a mother 
could ever love the murderer of her child ? But there 
is no love like that which the saved sinner bears to the 
Saviour. Can I ever be reconciled to that which made 
him bleed and die ? Can I ever cherish that which 
grieves and dishonours him who loved me and gave 
himself for me ? 

" Furnish me, Lord, with heavenly arms, 
From grace's magazine ; 
And I'll proclaim eternal war 
With every darling sin." 



May 25. — Morning. 347 



MAY 25.— MORNING 

" Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 

2 Cok. iii. 17. 

What liberty ? 

A freedom IN duty. There" are some who dislike 
the word duty, though it is a word by no means Tin- 
evangelical : for it entirely excludes the idea of merit ; 
as that which is due cannot be meritorious. And are 
persons, in proportion as they are favoured, without 
obligations ? Do not benefits gender claims to service ? 
"Know ye not," says the Apostle, "that ye are not 
your own ? for ye are bought with a price ; wherefore 
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which 
are God's." David acknowledges this ; " Lord, truly 
I am thy servant : thou hast loosed my bonds :" that 
is, thou hast loosened me to bind me — loosened me 
from disease and destruction, to bind me to love and 
serve my deliverer and benefactor. Those who dislike 
the word duty, it is to be feared, dislike the thing 
itself; and resemble Ephraim, who loved to tread out 
the corn, yet not to break the clods. But " the spi- 
ritual" can say, "His commandments are not grievous." 
They consider religious duties as privileges, and feel 
them such when the Lord is with them ; for " where the 
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." To this David 
refers when he says, " Then shall I run in the way of 
thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart." 

The heart is enlarged for obedience when it is ex- 
empted from the influence of carnal considerations. 
When Paul received his trying commission, imme* 
diately says he, I conferred not with flesh and blood. 
Flesh and blood are sad counsellors in the work of 
God; and it is easy to imagine what; adyjoe they 



348 May 25.— Morning. 

would have given him. Some persons are not at 
liberty to pursue the way that they should choose. 
They feel restraints arising from their reputation, or 
connexions, or worldly advantage. They could easily 
decide whether the thing was true or right in itself; 
and this should be the only question ; but before they 
act, they must know what people will think and say 
of them — Whether they shall not be charged with 
hypocrisy ? or enthusiasm ? — whether they shall not 
provoke an enemy? or lose a friend? or suffer in 
trade ? Thus they are checked by the fear of man, 
which bringeth a snare. What snare ? The danger 
of drawing back, or turning aside, instead of going- 
forward and abounding in the work of the Lord ; the 
danger of concealing or denying their principles and 
conforming to the place and company they are in, in- 
stead of confessing the Saviour before men, and de- 
claring themselves on the Lord's side. Now the 
grace of Grod delivers us from these preventions : it 
sets us free to follow the calls of duty ; it induces 
us only to ask, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
do ?" And what a blessed liberty does a man then 
feel ! Thus the bird that rises high and flies along, is 
free from obstruction; and can move straight and 
quick : while the bird that keeps near the ground 
must make many a zigzag in his course, to avoid trees, 
and houses, and towers, and hills. A timid animal 
starts or creeps aside continually; but "the lion" 
keeps on in his march, " and turneth not away for any.' 
And " the path of life is above the wise." And "the 
righteous is bold as a lion." Conviction is a great 
source of courage, but affection is a greater. There is 
no fear in love. Perfect love casteth out fear. Love 
is strong as death : many waters cannot quench love, 









May 25.— Mokning. 349 

neither can the floods drown it. What then will be 
the effect of the love of God shed abroad in the 
heart ? ' ' We cannot, " said Peter and John , ' ' bnt speak 
the things which we have seen and heard." Bunyan 
very wisely makes Mr. Greatheart the conductor of 
the pilgrims. How would they have been let and in- 
jured without him ! But where he was, there was 
liberty. 

The Christian is also enlarged for obedience by 
deliverance from formality. We may well talk of the 
dulness and deadness of formality. The effect of it 
in duty is to make our souls like Pharaoh's chariots 
with the wheels off: we drag on heavily. But holy 
fervour makes us " like the chariots of Amminadab." 
Sails are useful, but what are they if there be no 
breeze ? Nothing ■ contracts and obstructs like the 
want of spirituality in religion. We sometimes com- 
plain of darkness ; and darkness confines ; but the 
rising sun releases the prisoners of night, and they 
go forth to their work and to their labour till the even- 
ing. We feel coldness ; and coldness confines. The 
frost binds up the stream; but the melting causes it 
to flow. The winter holds back the powers of nature, 
and keeps barren the fields and the garden ; but the 
warmth of spring sets free the principles of vegeta- 
tion, and all is life and fertility. Such a difference is 
there in our devotional exercises, whether retired or 
public ; between our frames, when we are left to our- 
selves, and when the Spirit helps our infirmities : and 
the preparation of the heart, and the answer of the 
tongue, are from the Lord. 

We may add, that nothing more prepares for and 
aids us in the work of obedience than a discharge from 
the dread of condemnation. "The blood of Christ 



350 May 25. — Morning. 

purges the conscience from dead works to serve the 
living God." By dead works the Apostle means sins, 
which produce spiritual and deserve eternal death. 
The purging of the conscience from these does not 
here refer to sanctification, but to the effect of justifi- 
cation, in freeing us from a sense of guilt, and giving 
us peace and joy in God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, by whom we have received the atonement. 
And this grace wherein we stand is not only the most 
delightful privilege, but, according to the Apostle, it 
is necessary to our serving God. For how can we 
pursue our work to advantage while we are pressed 
down with a burden too heavy for us to bear? How 
must we be labouring in the fire, and wearying our- 
selves for very vanity, while we are thinking ot atoning 
for our lives, or going about to establish our own 
righteousness ! Believers have nothing to do here — 
Their sins are expiated ; the righteousness in which 
they appear before God is provided. They therefore 
cease from their legal and tormenting drudgery, and 
enter into rest, and are made free indeed — and free to 
attend entirely to their grateful and pleasant work of 
pleasing and serving God in the Gospel of his Son — 
There is nothing servile in their obedience, and there- 
fore it is not partial and constrained ; but full, and 
of a ready mind — They are upholden by his " free 
Spirit." They are sons that serve him : for they have 
not received the spirit of bondage to fear, but the 
Spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father. 
Not that they indulge in a careless presumptuous man- 
ner in dealing with God ; but they feel their relation 
to him, and knowing that God is not only pacified; 
towards them, but that they are accepted in the Be-. 
loved, and are now not only reconciled but infinitely- 



May 25. — Evening. 351 

dear to him, they have boldness and access with con- 
fidence by the faith of Jesus ; and can draw near in 
full assurance of faith. They feel their unworthiness, 
but they know they are welcome — welcome to approach 
his gates — welcome to enter his house — welcome to sit 
down at his table — welcome to hang upon his arm — 
welcome to lean on his bosom — welcome at all times 
and in all circumstances to spread their wants and 
cares before him with a certainty of relief — For where 
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty ! 

While we believe the importance of the possession, 
and know that if any man have not the Spirit of 
Christ he is none of his ; let us rejoice that our heavenly 
Father will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him ; 
and that he giveth more grace. Let us therefore be 
enlarged in our desires; and not only have the Spirit, 
but be filled with the Spirit. 



MAY 25.— EVENING. 

" Grieve not the holy Spirit of God." Ephes. iv. 30. 

The expression is not to be taken properly and 
literally, as if the holy Spirit of God was capable of 
vexation or sorrow. The Divine Nature is not subject 
to human passions. God's condescension is not to rob 
him of his glory. When the Scripture ascribes to him 
actions or affections that imply imperfection, it is in 
accommodation to our weakness of apprehension. 
We lisp with infants. And, unable to view the shining 
sun with the naked eye, we survey it in a vessel of 
water, or through obscured glass. 

We grieve a friend when we neglect him, or go 
contrary to his wishes and interests. And when he 



852 May 25.— Evening. 

is grieved lie betrays it. His countenance is not 
towards us as aforetime. Frowns succeed to smiles. 
He complains and reproves. He discontinues his 
visits and correspondence. All this will apply to the 
grieving of the holy Spirit of God. And there are 
three reasons why we should not grieve him. — 
Nothing can be more unbecoming — ungrateful — un- 
wise. 

— Nothing can be more unbecoming, if we consider 
his greatness. The Holy Spirit is deserving in him- 
self of all the regard we can express. If a nobleman 
was calling upon you, common civility would teach 
you not to hurt his mind. If the king honored you 
with his presence, how anxious would you feel not to 
offend him ; how studious would you be to please him 
in all your actions, and words, and looks ! Here all 
comparison fails. No mortal is honoured like the 
Christian, with whom the King of kings and Lord of 
lords deigns even to dwell. And will he not be sensi- 
ble of this honour? Will he not exclaim, "Lord, 
what is man, that thou art mindful of him ; or the 
son of man, that thou visitest him?" Will he not 
fall upon his knees, and pray, " Let the words of my 
mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable 
in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Eedeemer?'' 

— Nothing can be more ungrateful, if we consider 
his goodness. What obligation was he under to you ? 
You were not worthy of the least of all his mercies : 
you deserved that his wrath should have come upon 
you as children of disobedience. Had he therefore 
left you to perish, you would have had no reason Jo 
complain. But who remembered }-ou in your low 
estate ? Who quickened you, when dead in tres- 
passes and sins ? Who unstopped your deaf ears, and 



May 25. — Evening. 353 

opened jour blind eyes ? Who turned your feet into 
the paths of peace ? Who enabled you to believe on* 
the Lord Jesus Christ to life everlasting? Who gave 
you a disposition, a taste, congenial with the work and 
enjoyment of heaven ? Who sealed you unto the day 
of redemption ? But for his gracious agency, where 
and what would you now have been ? And are you 
forgetful of all this ? Are you grieving such a bene- 
factor ? Is this thy kindness to thy friend ? 

— Nothing can be more unwise, if we consider his 
importance to you. As you are deeply indebted to 
him for the past, so you are entirely dependent upon 
him for the future. You live in the Spirit, you walk 
in the Spirit. Grieve the holy Spirit of Grod ? What ! 
would you grieve your Leader, and be left to travel 
alone ? Can you find your way without him ? Can 
you learn without this teacher ? Must he not guide 
you into all truth ? What ! would you grieve your 
Helper, and be left to act alone* in your work ? Can 
you worship without the preparation of the heart and 
the answer of the tongue, which are from him? 
Without him, can you order your speech, by reason 
of darkness ? Can you know what to pray for as you 
ought, unless the Spirit helps your infirmities ? What 
power have you in any duty, unless you are strength- 
ened with might by the Spirit in the inner man ? You 
may spread your sails, but he must fill them. What ! 
would you grieve your Preserver, and be left to con- 
tend by yourself against your enemies? Are you a 
match for the powers of darkness, and the devices of 
Satan ? The first temptation that assaults you alone, 
may occasion your sinning and falling : and by this 
you may cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of — 
ministers to be discouraged — your fellow-Christians 



354 May 25. — Evening. 

to be distressed — that which is lame to be turned out 
of the way — while your sin would be ever before 
you. — What! would you grieve your Comforter, and 
lose your hold of the promises, and be unable to dis- 
cern your evidences of heaven, and feel your hope 
decline, and your heart sink in the day of adversity ; 
and be in bondage through fear of death — and groan, 
11 Oh that it were with me as in months past, when the 
candle of the Lord shined upon my head ; and when 
by his light I walked through darkness, and while as 
yet the Almighty was with me !" 

The comforts of the Holy Spirit can afford such 
strong consolation, as will revive us in the midst of 
trouble. According to the Saviour's assurance, when 
leaving this world, his being with us can more than 
make up for the loss of his bodily presence. But 
" when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?" 
Yain then are friends, ministers, ordinances. "For 
these things," saith the Church, " I weep : mine eye 
runneth down with water, because the Comforter that 
should relieve my soul is far from me" — What in- 
fatuation to grieve him ! 

Yet if there were no danger of this, the admonition 
would not have been given. Let me not be high- 
minded, but fear. "Blessed is the man that feareth 
always." I have always at hand an active adversary, 
the Devil. I am passing through a world lying in 
wickedness. I carry within me an evil heart of unbe- 
lief. Every thing without is rendered dangerous by 
the sin that dwelleth in me. They who far surpass 
me in every thing have been overcome. Let me 
therefore watch and pray. " Hold thou me up, and 
I shall be safe." 

Nor let me be satisfied with negative religion. Let 



May 26. — Morning. 355 

it not, my soul, be enough that I grieve him not. 
Let me cherish all his motions. Let me walk so as to 
please him. Let me abound tnerein more and more. 






MAY 26.— MORNING. 

"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inherit- 
ance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." 

Ps. ii. 8. 

" The heathen " — " the uttermost parts of the 
earth ;" viewed in the representations of Scripture, 
and the reports of historians, travellers, and mission- 
aries, seem a very unenviable acquisition. If it be 
true, that the whole world lieth in wickedness, it 
seems fitter to be for the inheritance " and .the pos- 
session" of Satan, than the Son of God. But two 
things are to be taken into the account. Notwith- 
standing the present condition of the estate, it con- 
tains very valuable and convertible materials. 
" Every human being, however depraved and de- 
graded, is a creature of God. He is the work of his 
hands, and is fearfully and wonderfully made. He 
has a soul of more value than the material world. 
The child of a savage is a richer production than the 
sun. The sun sees not his own light ; feels not his 
own heat ; and, with all his grandeur, is doomed to 
perish — But that child is the subject of reason; the 
heir of immortality. That child is capable of know- 
ing, and serving, and resembling God, and of filling 
a sphere of everlasting action and enjoyment. That 
child will hear the heavens passing away with a great 
noise, and see the elements melting with fervent heat, 



356 May 26. — Morning. 

and stand with all the dead, small and great, before 
God. 

And we are also to consider what they may, and 
will become. Thus the Saviour viewed them, when 
they were surrendered to him. He pitied them ; and 
he knew he was able to bless them — and he knew that 
they would not remain what they were ; but that for 
him the wilderness and solitary place should be made 
glad, and the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose. 
He knew it had been said, by Faithfulness and Truth, 
" Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace : 
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before 
you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall 
clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up 
the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the 
myrtle-tree ; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, 
for an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off." The 
more desperate the condition of the patient, the more 
pleasure does his recovery afford the physician ; and 
the more does it display his skill and ability. So here. 
All these captives the Redeemer ransoms; and each 
of them as a justified, sanctified, glorified being, will 
for ever reflect his honour. He found them at hell's 
dark door : but he raises them above the heavens. He 
found them in the likeness of the Devil ; and he adorns 
them with the image of God. He found them the 
disgrace of the universe ; and he makes them an eternal 
excellency, the joy of many generations. 

What is so interesting and delightful to a man of 
taste as alteration and improvement? With what 
pleasure does he view a piece of rude and barren soil, 
under his cultivation, looking forth, dressed in living 
green, and abounding with trees and flowers ! What 
pleasure does a benevolent mind feel, when he views 



May 26. — Morning. 357 

the child he has taken up, exchanging rags for de- 
cency, ignorance for knowledge, vicious and idle habits 
for virtue and industry — and contemplates his comfort, 
usefulness, and respectability, as the fruit of his kind- 
ness and labour ! What satisfaction must the Saviour 
feel, to behold, as the effect of his Cross, and his Grace, 
the renewal of human nature ; the deliverance of pro- 
vince after province from the power of Satan ; and the 
kingdoms of this world coming under the influence of 
the Gospel ! What an inheritance — what a possession 
will the Heathen and the uttermost parts of the earth 
be to the Messiah, when Paganism, and Mahomedanism, 
and the man of sin, shall perish ! when the Jews shall 
come in, with the fulness of the Gentiles! when, in 
every place, incense shall be offered unto him, and a 
pure offering ! when the nations shall learn war no 
more ! when the people shall be all holy, trees of 
righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may 
be glorified ! 

We read of two vast gifts of God in the Scripture : 
the gift of his Son to the world ; and the gift of the 
world to his Son. The first of these is the greatest; 
and "we ought never to think of it without exclaiming, 
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift! But 
let us think of the other also; and rejoice that our 
earth is to come under the dominion of the Messiah, 
and is given to him for this purpose. It is thus to 
him, as Canaan was to the Jews. Canaan was to them 
the Land of Promise ; and, God having promised it, 
in vain was every attempt made to keep them from 
obtaining it. Egypt was plagued ; Pharoah and his 
army were destroyed ; the Sea opened a passage for 
the heirs of promise ; Jordan was driven back ; and 
they were brought in triumph to the rest and the in- 



358 May 26.— Morning. 

lieritance, which, the Lord their God had given them. 
So will it be here. All opposition will be as vain as 
it is unreasonable. His enemies shall lick the dust. 
The word is gone out of God's mouth, and shall not 
return, that to him every knee shall bow, and every 
tongue confess. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, 
until he shall come whose right it is, and I will give 
it him. 

Let us think of his prospects. We have sympa- 
thized with him in his agony and bloody sweat; in 
his cross and passion. Let us exult at the thought, 
that he is crowned with glory and honour — and has 
the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost 
parts of the earth for his possession. And what an 
immensity of subjects will he derive from them! and 
what an infinity of services ! and what an eternity of 
praises and delights ! It was tke joy set before him — 
and he shall see of the travail of his soul — and shall 
be satisfied. 

We ought also to rejoice from a principle of bene- 
volence. His dominion involves the happiness of tbe 
human race. ISTebuchadnezzar, and other conquerors, 
had nations given into their hand ; but they only 
enslaved, and impoverished, and cursed their subjects. 
But, 

'* Blessings abound where'er He reigns : 
The pris'ner leaps to lose his chains ; 
The weary find eternal rest ; 
And all the sons of want are bless'd." 



May 26. — Evening. 359 



MAY 26.— EVENING. 

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God." 

Heb. xii. 15. 

"We are here admonished not to "fail of the grace 
of God." There is a difference between failing of the 
grace of God, and failing from it. We are persuaded 
the Scripture gives no real countenance to the doctrine 
of falling from grace. The certainty of the end in- 
cludes the necessity of the means ; and therefore we 
can, with consistency, make use of every warning and 
motive against declension and apostacy, while yet we 
believe that the righteous shall hold on his way, and 
are confident of this very thing, that He which hath 
begun a good work in us will perform it until the 
day of Jesus Christ. When the angel had announced 
the safety of all on "board, and the apostle believed 
God that it should be as it had been told him : yet he 
made no scruple to say to the Centurion and the 
soldiers, when the mariners were meanly leaving the 
vessel, " Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be 
saved." Dr. Owen, no mean critic, contends that the 
word here rendered to fail, signifies always to want, to 
come short; and never, to fall from actual possession. 
We say, the trees this year will fail of a crop ; we say 
to a racer, see that you fail not of the prize ; and to a 
warrior, see that you fail not of a victory : and in all 
these instances we intend not the loss of a thing when 
obtained, but the not obtaining it. The meaning 
therefore is, take heed that you miss not the grace of 
God ; or, as it is expressed in an earlier part of the 
Epistle, " Therefore fear lest, a promise being left you 
of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to 
come short tf it " 



360 May 26.— Evening. 

The caution implies 

— Importance. It is as much as to say, your su- 
preme concern should be to secure the grace of God 
— This is the principal thing — 

" Sufficient in itself alone, 
And needful were the world our own." 

Even the devil is good authority here. He knows 
the worth of what we neglect and despise; and all his 
aims and devices are to keep us from seeking after it. 
The grace of God is — The only source of relief under 
conviction of sin — The only principle of true obedi- 
ence — The only safeguard of prosperity — The only 
support under trouble — The only deliverance from 
death — The only meetness for heaven — The evidence, 
the earnests, the foretastes, the beginning of eternal 
life. 

It implies acquireableness. The admonition would 
be futile unless the grace of God were within our 
reach. It is impossible to read the Scripture, and not 
perceive that the inestimable blessing is not only re- 
vealed to our view, but proposed to our hope, and 
pressed upon o\ir acceptation. We are commanded to 
be " renewed in the spirit of our minds :" and to be 
"filled with the Spirit:" but the command, or it 
would be absurd, involves the possibility of the thing. 
Grace is laid up in the Mediator for this very purpose. 
It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness 
dwell for our use. "He received gifts for men, and 
even for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might 
dwell among them." We have also the promise ; 
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall 
find." The invitation also is universal : " Whosoever 
will, let him take of the water of life freely." ' ; Look 



May 26.— Evening. 361 

unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." 
We can appeal to actual instances. How many in 
heaven, how many also on earth, who by nature were 
all children of wrath, even as others, and in whom 
was no good thing, are now the partakers of the 
grace of God in truth ! "We are encompassed with a 
great cloud of witnesses ; and each of them testifies 
that he is good and ready to forgive, and plenteous in 
mercy unto all that call upon him. 

— But it implies danger. Unless it was possible, 
and very possible, that we should come short of it, the 
Apostle would not have expressed himself with such 
peculiar earnestness — "Looking — diligently;" nor 
have extended the caution to all, whatever advantages 
they have in their favour — "Lest any man fail of the 
grace of God." You may fail of the grace of God — 
Though you were born in a Christian country, and 
were baptized in your infancy — Though you were 
born of religious parents, and had a pious education — 
Though you attend the means of grace, and hear the 
truth as it is in Jesus — Though you have a clear 
knowledge of the doctrines of the Gospel — Though 
you receive into your conviction and belief the faith 
once delivered to the saints — Though you have spi- 
ritual gifts, and can talk well and pray wisely — 
Though your passions are sometimes pleasingly and 
awfully excited — Though you have undergone a great 
change and reformation in your character and conduct 
— Though many think you have the grace of God, 
and you are admitted into the church, and admired 
while you live, and extolled when you die, and the 
funeral sermon and the magazine may speak of you 
as having entered into the joy of your Lord — Though 
you are persuaded yourselves that you are possessed 
16- 



362 May 27.— Mokning. 

of it, and carry the confidence to the very door of 
heaven, saying, "Lord, Lord, open unto us; we have 
eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught 
in our streets — but he shall answer, I know you not 
whence ye are — " 

Of the numbers that came out of Egypt only two 
entered Canaan. Yet they did all eat the same spi- 
ritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual 
drink. 

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take 
heed, lest he fall. 

" Search me, O God, and know my heart : try me, 
and know my thoughts : and see if there be any 
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way ever- 
lasting." 



MAY 27.— MORXIXG. 
" The dumb spake." Matt, ix 33. 

This was a natural dumbness, the cure of which 
was to be one of the miracles attending the Messiah's 
advent : " Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, 
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped : then 
shall the lame man leap as an hart — and the tongue 
of the dumb sing." 

But there is a moral dumbness, and the Saviour 
heals this when he makes us new creatures. Then 
old things pass away, and all things become new — 
not physically new, but spiritually new ; each faculty 
becoming new in quality, application, and use. Thus 
the man has a tongue before, but not a religious one. 
He speaks before ; but now his speech is with grace. 
[Now he speaks — of God — for God — and to God. 



May 27— Mokning. 363 

He speaks of God. Of his perfections. Of his 
designs. Of his works, and ways. Of his word. Of 
his commands and promises — a theme for angels. 

He speaks for God. " On his behalf," as Elihu 
says. In defending his truth. In justifying his peo- 
ple. In recommending his service. In pleading his 
cause. "Wisdom is necessary here ; and we are to dis- 
tinguish between places and seasons, and characters. 
"A word fitly spoken, how good is it! It is like 
apples of gold in pictures of silver." Yet caution, 
though it should qualify our zeal, should not quench 
it. We should be courageous, as well as discreet — 

"And, if some proper hour appear, 
I'll not be overaw'd ; 
But let the scoffing sinner hear, 
That I can speak for God." 

He speaks to God. — And this is the better evidence 
of our sincerity. For many speak of God, and many 
for him, who never speak to him. While the world 
hears them, and the temple hears them, silence reigns 
in the closet. But the Christian's delight is in God, 
and the duties and exigencies of his spiritual condition 
will bring him often to His seat ; and he will address 
Him much in a way of adoration, and confession, and 
intercession, and prayer. 

If you are the subject of this grace, use it ; and be 
concerned that the words of your mouth, as well as 
the meditation of your heart, may be acceptable in 
God's sight. Beware of any return of the old malady. 
There is an occasional, partial, comparative dumb- 
ness ; and it is brought on by sin. This stops our 
speech. It did so in the case of David, when he had 
fallen by his iniquity. It not only broke his bones, 



364 May 27.— Evening. 

and deprived hirn of joy, but of confidence, and filled 
him with fear and silence — He could neither speak, as 
he had done, of God, or for God, or to God. It is a 
sad evil ; and, if it be your experience, do — it is the 
best thing you can do — do as he did. Take the case, 
and lay it before God, and say — " Open thou my 
mouth, and my lips shall shew forth thy praise." 

MAT 27— EVENING. 

"And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all 
that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I 
am, except these bonds." Acts xxvi. 29. 

"Such as I am. 11 And what was Paul? He was 
an Apostle. But he does not refer to this, or wish 
that his audience, like himself, were called to an extra- 
ordinary mission, or could speak with new tongues, 
and discern spirits, and heal diseases, and foretell 
things to come. He knew official character and mira- 
culous endowments were not things that accompany 
salvation. Balaam was a prophet, and Judas was an 
apostle. But Paul was a Christian; and to this his 
desire alludes. For his exclamation is in reply to the 
king's confession — "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, 
Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" — And 
Paul said, "Would to God this was completely the case 
with thyself and this whole assembly — " Would to 
God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this 
day, were not only almost, but altogether such as I 
am, except these bonds." 

Thus therefore he not only shews a consciousness 
of his Christianity, but the estimation in which he 
held the privilege of his state as a Christian. There 
was nothing he could wish for others, by an infinite 



May 27.— Evening. 365 

degree, so important and so valuable. For if they 
were Christians, he knew — They would be safe : for 
there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus. He knew — They would be honourable : the 
excellent of the earth, kings and priests unto God, 
the sons aud daughters of the Lord Almighty, the 
charge of angels, who are all sent forth to minister 
unto them that are the heirs of salvation. He knew 
— They would be happy: attaining what all others 
seek in vain : happy in hope, happy in fruition, 
happy in their comforts, happy in their duties, happy 
in their trials. He knew — They would be useful : 
not only being blessed in themselves, but proving 
blessings to others; the best benefactors of the 
human race, the chariots of Israel and the horse- 
men thereof, the salt of the earth, the light of the 
world— 

But see his benevolence as well as wisdom. The 
spirit that is in us lusteth to envy. "We love things 
to be exclusively our own. The child is pleased when 
no one has a bauble but himself. The female is afraid 
that her fashion should be known : her mode would 
lose half its value, should the dress of another be as 
new, and fine, as her own — So it is with all ranks in 
life. But grace had dethroned this spirit in Paul. 
See the benevolence of his disposition in three things. 
First — The extent of his wish. It reaches to all. Yet 
some of his audience were not only heathens and 
Jews, but his bitterest enemies. Secondly, the degree 
of it — were not only almost, but altogether such as I 
am. It is well to see people like the young man in 
the Gospel, not far from the kingdom of God. It is 
well to see them hearing the word, convinced, re- 
formed. But they may be hearers of the word and not 



May 27. — Evening. 

doers ; convinced and not converted : reformed and 
not renewed. It is sad to go far, and come short at 
last. To be almost j ustified is to be condemned ; to 
be almost saved is to be lost. Thirdly, the exception 
— The chain he then wore, and which confined him to 
the soldier as a sufferer or a criminal, would be deemed 
painful or reproachful, and tend to scandalize Agrippa : 
he therefore says, except these bonds. This was a fine 
turn, and shewed Paul to be a man of education and 
address. But it shews something more than his elo- 
quence. He would not wish others to be tried, espe- 
cially at first, as he was. 7" would bear willingly all 
my afflictions, till he for whom I suffer is pleased to 
release me : but I do not wish others to endure them. 
Let them have my privileges without my persecutions. 
Surely the righteous is more excellent than his neigh- 
bour ! What a noble soul was here ! Little and mean 
spirits can never rise to this. If they wish others to 
be equal to themselves, they cannot wish others above 
themselves. The Elder Brother could not bear the 
degree of the Prodigal's reception — Thou never gavest 
me a kid that I might make merry with my friends — 
Yet for him thou hast killed the fatted calf. But angels 
rejoice when a sinner, by repentance, is brought into 
a condition superior to their own. And we know the 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when he was rich, 
for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty 
might be rich. 

But when Paul says, "would to God" that this was 
the case, it is to be considered as a real prayer, and 
shews not only his benevolence in wishing their con- 
version, but his belief and acknowledgment of Divine 
agency as necessary to accomplish it. He owned this 
with regard to himself. It pleased God to reveal his 



May 27.— Evening. 367 

Son in me. He called me by his grace. By the 
grace of God I am what I am — not I, but the grace 
of God which was with me. He owned it always 
with regard to others. Eead what he says of the 
Ephesians : " God, who is rich in mercy, for his great 
love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead 
in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by 
grace ye are saved ;) for by grace are ye saved through 
faith: and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of 
God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For 
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
good works, which God hath before ordained that we 
should walk in them." How can it be otherwise ? 
If in him we live, and move, and have our being natur- 
ally, has the spiritual life, called the life of God, any 
thing less than a Divine source for its origin and sup- 
port? Hence the promise, "I will sprinkle clean 
water upon them — I will put my Spirit within them, 
and cause them to walk in my statutes." 

To him therefore for this influence let us pray, not 
only for ourselves, but for others — for our families, 
friends, neighbours, all mankind. He is the God of 
all grace, and he answers relative as well as personal 
prayer. But let one thing be- remembered : if our 
prayers are sincere, it will appear in our exertions ; 
for God uses means, and makes us the instruments of 
his agency. And he that converteth a sinner from 
the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and 
shall hide a multitude of sins. 



368 May 28.— Morning. 



MAY 28.— MOENING. 

" Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. iii. 18. 

If we consider these words as containing two injunc- 
tions, may we not view the second as prescribing the 
means for the accomplishment of the first ? It is cer- 
tain that there is a supreme excellency in the know- 
ledge here recommended; and that he who would 
grow in grace, must grow in the knowledge of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

This knowledge is supposed to be progressive. It 
was gradual even in its communication to the world. 
Judaism was the dawn ; Christianity the day. Pro- 
phets and righteous men desired to see the things that 
we see, and did not see them ; and to hear the things that 
we hear, and did not hear them. There are degrees, 
also, in its personal attainment and experience — Four 
ways we may grow in this knowledge. 

First. In its extent. Who has advanced near the 
extremities of this field? How little do the wisest 
know of the treasures hid in it ! 

" The cross, the manger, and the throne, 
Are big with glories yet unknown." 

Angels know much more than they once did. But 
they still desire to look into these things — How much 
more should we ! 

Secondly. In its certainty. This is, and must be, 
the same in itself; but, as to us, the degree of it de- 
pends upon the perception of evidence : and the mind 
may be led along from possibility to probability, and 
from probability to full conviction. The firmness of 



May 28.— Morning. 869 

belief may be strengthened by the confirmations of 
experience. The whole life of a Christian is a series 
of tests, by which he tries and proves the word of (rod. 
He is, therefore, perpetually increasing in the full as- 
surance of understanding, and has his heart established 
with grace. 

Thirdly. In its influence. This implies the former, 
but is distinguishable from it. There cannot be prac- 
tical knowledge without speculative. But who will 
not own that there may be speculative knowledge 
without practical ? Who is ignorant of the difference 
there is between knowing things in theory, and in en- 
perience? between the apprehensions of the judgment, 
and the bias of the will, and the glow of the affections ? 
Who feels, and fears, and loves, according to his belief? 
Alas ! how often do we see and approve better things, 
and follow worse ! How often are the clearest dictates 
of the understanding, and even convictions of the con- 
science, counteracted by our appetites and passions ! 
We believe that we are dying creatures ; and live as 
if we were to live here always! We own ourselves 
under the providence of Him who doth all things well ; 
and we murmur and repine, as if his dealings were 
unjust or unkind ! We doubt not the Saviour's power 
and love ; and yet we cannot trust in him ; and are 
strangers to consolation and peace ! 

Fourthly. In \Xs appropriation. Job could say, " I 
know that my Redeemer liveth." David said, "God 
is the strength of my heart, aud my portion for ever." 
The first Christians said, "We know that the Son of 
God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that 
we may know Him that is true; and we are in him 
that is true." Who does not want more of this de- 
lightful confidence, to raise him above the world, to 
16* 



370 May 28.— Evening. 

support him in his trials, to embolden him in his pro- 
fession, and to enable him to triumph over the fears 
of death? 

God, preserve me from delusion in a business of 
everlasting importance! Let me feel a thousand 
terrors, rather than perish with a lie in my right hand. 
But if I am thine, save me from the uncertainties I 
now feel. Give me the full assurance of hope unto 
the end. Let me know not only that there are ex- 
ceeding great and precious promises, but that I am an 
heir of promise — not only that in the Lord Jesus all 
fulness dwells, but that I am blessed with all spiritual 
blessings in heavenly places in him. Say unto my 
soul, I am thy salvation. 

MAY 28.— EVENING. 

" I have sinned ; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of 
men ?" Job vii. 20. 

Heee is a confession, and an inquiry. 

The confession seems to have nothing very dis- 
criminating in it. The manner in which it is used, 
and the sentiments from which it proceeds, can alone 
therefore evince the state of mind in him who 
employs it. In true penitence the confession will 
always be strictly personal. We may often hear the 
expression, "God knows we are all sinners:" but the 
meaning of the exclaimers is, to bring in others for a 
share, rather than to condemn themselves; and the 
universality of transgression is owned, to extenuate 
the individuality. But, says the real penitent, " Be- 
hold, 7" am vile, what shall I answer?" "My sin is 
ever before me." And he confesses not only the fact 
of his sin, but the fault, the guilt, the desert — "I am 






May 28. — Evening. 371 

not worthy to be called thy son." "Against thee, 
thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy 
sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou 
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." And 
while he is candid towards others, because he knows 
not the extenuations which attach to their offences, 
he will be severe towards himself, for he is conscious 
of the aggravations of his own iniquities. And as sin 
is the transgression of the law, and the law is spiritual, 
extending to the state of his heart, and requiring his 
principles and motives to be good as well as his actions, 
and condemning omissions of duty as well as positive 
crimes, with his growing knowledge, his sins enor- 
mously multiply in number, and he only speaks the 
words of truth and soberness when he says, "Mine 
iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not 
able to look up ; they are more than the hairs of mine 
head : therefore my heart faileth me." 

True confession is also always accompanied with a 
broken heart and a contrite spirit. Some speak of 
their sins, if not with pleasure, yet with a kind of 
indifference. But Ephraim bemoaned himself. The 
publican smote upon his breast. When Peter thought 
on his fall, he wept bitterly. 

Of course there is also a disposition to sacrifice the 
evil deplored. Pharoah and Saul more than once 
said, "I have sinned," yet went on still in their tres- 
pass. But he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin 
shall find mercy. He therefore will say, with Ephraim, 
" What have I any more to do with idols?" He will 
even pluck out a right eye, and cut off a right hand, 
and cast it from him. Thus it was with the Ephesian 
converts. " Many that believed came and confessed, 
and shewed their deeds. Manv of them also which 



872 May 28.— Evening. 

used curious arts brought their books together, and 
burned them before all men ; and they counted the 
price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of 
silver." What a sum to lose ! Many would have sold 
these books; but these persons said, Though they have 
poisoned us they shall not infect others, and threw 
into the flames what might have yielded them near 
two thousand pounds. This was bringing forth fruit 
meet for repentance. A man, too, when divinely 
wrought upon, will in his confession acknowledge 
evils of which natural conscience never accuses us, 
such as spiritual pride, self-righteousness, and the ne- 
glect and contempt of the provision made for the 
recovery of sinners, by which we frustrate the grace of 
God, and make Jesus Christ to be dead in vain. When 
therefore the Saviour says, the Spirit shall convince 
of sin, he adds, because they believe not on me. And 
no guilt will affect such a soul like this. And till v^e 
are led to the evil heart of unbelief, we overlook the 
root and the spring of our ruin, and stop only at the 
branches and the streams. 

But here is also an inquiry — I have sinned ; what 
shall I do unto thee, O thou Preserver of men ? It 
seems not at first view very intelligible. It may be 
taken two ways, requiring very different answers. 
First, what shall I do unto thee in a way of satisfac- 
tion or reparation for the wrong I have committed ; 
so as to prevent the consequences of my guilt, and 
stop thy proceedings against me ? This will be the 
immediate concern of the awakened sinner ; and he 
will be able to give no sleep to his eyes, or slumber 
to his eyelids, till he finds a solution in his favour. 
Hence Micah represents such a man as asking, 
" Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and 



May 28.— Evening. 373 

bow myself before the high (rod ? shall I come before 
him with burnt- offerings, with calves 01 a year old? 
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or 
with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? shall I give my 
first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body 
for the sin of my soul ?" In reply to this, it must be 
said, we can do nothing, offer nothing. The very 
attempt would be adding insult to injury. But can- 
not we repair the evil by future good works and 
obedience? In the first place we can only obey in 
the strength of God, and not in our own. Secondly, 
all the obedience we can render is always due to 
God, and therefore can never be meritorious in expi- 
ation of our offences ; the payment of things present 
will not wipe off the old score. To which also we 
may add, that our- obedience will be incomplete, and 
therefore, instead of recompensing God any thing, 
will fall short of his glory, and require pardon for its 
defects. The man soon sees this, and feels that he 
can make no atonement himself, and that the redemp- 
tion of his soul must cease for ever if it depends on 
any ransom he can furnish. And thus he would lie 
down in absolute despair, but for the light of the 
Gospel, which breaks in and shews him what in this 
case he can do. It is not to go about to establish his 
own righteousness, but to submit himself to the 
righteousness which is of God. It is not to toil, but 
believe — " To him that worketh not, but belie veth 
on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted 
for righteousness." His only course therefore is to 
appeal; to take with him in the hand of faith the 
Surety of the new covenant, and to say, "Look upon 
the face of thine Anointed." "Let thy hand be 
upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man 



374 May 28.— Evening. 

whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not 
we go back from thee ; quicken us and we will call 
upon thy name." Nothing else will avail : nothing 
else is necessary ; but coming in his name, pleading 
his sacrifice, you will be accepted in the Beloved as 
if you had never sinned, and God will rejoice over 
you with joy. 

Then, secondly, you will ask, what shall I do unto 
thee in a way of duty and thankfulness ? And the 
inquiry thus made is not only allowable but com- 
mendable, and as to the feelings of the pardoned sin- 
ner, unavoidable. Though he has nothing to do 
unto God, in putting away sin, or bringing in a justi- 
fying righteousness, he is infinitely indebted to his 
goodness. He cannot discharge his obligations ; but 
he feels them, and therefore must ask, " What shall 
I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me ?" 
What service shall I present him, not as a peace- 
offering, but as a thank-offering ? How shall I obey 
him, not as a slave, but a son ? not as a mercenary, 
but as one who is blessed with all spiritual blessings 
in heavenly places in Christ ? To him none of God's 
commandments are grievous. What he has to do all 
the days of his life is to love his benefactor, to fear to 
offend him, to pray that the words of his mouth, and 
the meditation of his heart, may be acceptable in his 
sight ; it is by the mercies of God to present his body 
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable ; and by him 
only to make mention of his name. 



May 29. — Mokning. 375 

may 29.— morning. 

"Ye are the children of the Lord your God." Deut. xiv. 1. 

The Jews were so by nation. All men are so by 
Creation and Providence. Christians are so by spe- 
cial grace ; according to the language of Inspiration — 
" Ye are all the children of God, by faith in Christ 
Jesus." " As many as received him, to them gave he 
power to become the sons of God, even to them that 
believe on his Name ; which were born, not of blood, 
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but 
of God." Let us make this relation a standard, by 
which to estimate four things. 

First. The Divine goodness — Here we only follow 
the example of the apostle John. He, even he, could 
not comprehend it, but he admires it, and calls upon 
others to admire it with him : " Behold what manner 
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we 
should be called the sons of God !" What manner of 
love! How rich! how free! how expensive ! What 
difficulties stood in the way ! Yet he removed them. 
How, said he, shall I put thee among the children ? 
Bat he did it. He not only spared and pardoned us ; 
he not only admitted us into his family as servants, 
but as sons ; and for this purpose, he gave his own 
Son for us, and his Spirit to us. " When the fulness 
of time was come, God sent forth his Son made of a 
woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that 
were under the Law, that we might receive the adop- 
tion of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent 
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, 
Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a ser- 



376 May 29.— Morning. 

vant, but a son ; and if a son, then an heir of God, 
through Christ." 

Secondly. The believer's dignit}^ Secular nobility 
derives all its lustre from flesh and blood; and if re- 
traced, will be found to originate in the dust of the 
ground, from which Adam was taken. It has little 
value, unless in the fancies of men. But our relation 
to God confers real and durable honour ; compared 
with which, the most magnificent titles in the world 
are mere shadows and smoke. How did the Jews 
boast of having Abraham to their father ! " Is it a 
light thing," said David, a subject, u that I should be 
son-in-law to the king?" But I think of the majesty 
and dominion of God I The world is his, and the ful- 
ness thereof — I behold the productions of the earth, 
and the wonders of the skies, and say — 

" My Father made them all !" 

Thirdly. The happiness of the Christian. The re- 
lation has connected with it the promise of pardon : 
and we daily need it ; for in many things we offend 
all. But I will spare him, says God, as a man spareth 
his own son that serveth him. It gives us free ac- 
cess to God in prayer; and inspires us with confi- 
dence and hope of success: "If ye being evil know 
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much 
more shall your Father which is in heaven give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him I" Hence correc- 
tion : " For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and 
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Hence 
education: he does not leave the child to himself; 
but trains him up in the way that he should go. 
Hence provision : He who feeds the ravens, will not 



May 29. — Morning. 377 

suffer the righteous to famish. Their heavenly 
Father knoweth what things they have need of before 
they ask him ; and will suffer them to want no good 
thing. And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, 
and joint heirs with Christ. Many are born to an 
estate which they never obtain : but here the inherit- 
ance is reserved in heaven ; and they are kept by 
the power of God, through faith, unto salvation, on 
earth. 

Fourthly. The duty of the saints. Are they all 
the children of the Lord their God ? Then they ought 
to fear him. If I am a father, where is my fear ? 
This will keep them from offending him. This will 
make them studious to please him. This will induce 
them to pray, " Let the words of my mouth, and the 
meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O 
Lord, my strength and my redeemer." 

As his children, they must walk worthy of Grod, 
who hath called them unto his kingdom and glory. 
We have read of a Polish Prince, who carried the 
picture of his father always in his bosom ; and, on any 
particular occasion, he would take it out and view it, 
and say, Let me do nothing unbecoming so excellent 
a father. Christians, do nothing unbecoming the 
rank of your family, and the grandeur of your de- 
scent. Be harmless and blameless, the Sons of God, 
without rebuke. Be followers of God, as dear child- 
ren. Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in 
heaven is perfect. 



878 May 29.— Evening. 



MAY 29.— EVENING. 



" Because ye are Sons. God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into 
your hearts." Gal iv. 6. 

We have heard of benefactors ; and we have seen a 
happy few who seem to value their wealth only as 
the resource of kindness and mercy ; and who make 
it the business of their lives to do good. But God is 
love ; and all benevolence vanishes from a comparison 
with the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness 
towards us. JSTone ever relieved such numbers, suc- 
coured so freely, or gave so richly. What are the 
greatest favours conferred by human generosity? 
Survey the gifts of God. Consider only two of them 
— The Son of his love, and the Spirit of his Son — 
The one given for us ; the other to us — The one pe- 
culiarly the promise of the Old Testament ; the other 
of the New. Each of these is equally necessary in the 
process of our recovery. The Christian alike values 
both : and of both the Apostle here speaks : " When 
the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his 
Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to re- 
deem them that were under the Law, that we might 
receive the adoption of sons." And "because ye are 
sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son" into 
your hearts. Let us attend to the latter of these. 

Who are the recipients? "Sons" — a name often 
given to the people of God in the Scriptures. They 
are subjects, and he is their Sovereign, and they owe 
him obedience; they are servants, and he is their 
Master, and they owe him attendance — But these 
relations do not go far enough : they are not suffici- 
ently affectionate, and near, and privileged, to ex- 



May 29.— Evening. 879 

press the state of Christians. Behold what manner of 
love the Father hath bestowed upon them — Tnev 
are called the sons of God. And now are they the 
sons of Grod. And they are so, not only or principally 
because they are the creatures of his power, but the 
partakers of his grace. And two ways the title is 
applied to them exclusively : adoption; and regenera- 
tion. For they are not only taken into the household 
of faith, but they are new born, born again, born of 
God. Among men these sources of filiation are 
never united. A man does not adopt those who are 
begotten of him. And when he admits the offspring 
of others into family relation, and gives them his 
name, he cannot convey to them his qualities. He 
may be generous, and they may be selfish ; he may 
be meek, and they may be severe, He may indeed 
instruct and admonish them, and exemplify his requi- 
sitions in his own life : this is all. But God not only 
changes our state, but our nature. He works in us 
to will and to do of his good pleasure — He speaks ; 
he acts like himself — "Behold, I create all things 
new." 

What is the blessing? " The Spirit of his Son." 
There are several other places in which the Spirit is 
held forth by this relation to Christ. But wherefore ? 
Peter, speaking of the prophets, says "the Spirit of 
Christ which was in them, testified beforehand the 
sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow " 
— It was employed in bearing witness to him from the 
beginning. Our Saviour also said, " He shall glorify 
me : for he shall receive of mine and shall shew it 
unto you." He also personally possessed this Spirit, 
and was always actuated by it. " The Spirit of the 
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and 



380 May 29.— Evening. 

understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the 
spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." But 
the principal reason of the name is, thai he procured 
this Spirit for us by his sufferings and death ; the 
whole dispensation of it was lodged in his hands ; and 
from his. fulness all we receive, and grace for grace. 
Therefore he said to his disciples, "If I depart, I 
will send him unto you." " I will send you another 
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." 
And Peter reports the accomplishment in a most 
signal instance : " Therefore, being by the right hand 
of God exalted, and having received of the Father the 
promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, 
which ye now see and hear." It is therefore derived 
from him to us — "We have an unction from the 
Holy One." 

Where does it reside? "Because we are sons, he 
hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" 
Here God begins: "he shines in our hearts, to give 
us the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face 
of Jesus Christ." Here he places the riches of his 
grace, and "a good man out of the good treasure of 
his heart bringeth forth good things ; for out of the 
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." The 
Lord looketh at the heart. If this be for him, every 
thing else will follow : but all is nothing without 
it. What is practice without principle, but a tree 
without a root, or a stream without a spring ! But 
when the Divine laws are put into our minds, and 
written in our hearts, our obedience is not only ren- 
dered certain, but natural and delightful. God of all 
grace ! fulfil thy covenant engagement in my happy 
experience — " I will put my Spirit within you, and 
cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep 



May 30. — Morning. 3.81 

my judgments, and do them." And may I " be filled 
with the Spirit." 

We see from the whole the oneness there is between 
Christ and his people. They are predestinated to be 
conformed to his image, that he might be the first- 
born among many brethren. In all things indeed he 
has the pre-eminence. He is the Son of God in an 
unrivalled sense ; but they also are sons. He had 
indeed the Spirit without measure ; but they have it 
in degree; for if any man have not the Spirit of 
Christ, he is none of his — And it is the same Spirit 
that resides in both — " Because ye are sons, God hath 
sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts." 
This conformity extends to their future condition as 
well as their present character. " When he who is 
their life shall appear^ they also shall appear with him 
in glory."' As they now "bear the image of the heav- 
enly," in having in them the mind that was in him, so 
they will hereafter corporeally resemble him ; for "he 
shall change their vile body, that it may be fashioned 
like unto his own glorious body" — "It doth not yet 
appear what we shall be ; but this we know, that 
when he shall appear, we shall be like him 3 for we 
shall see him as he is." 



MAY 30.— MORNING. 
" Crying, Abba, Father." Gal. iv. 6. 

Such is the effect of the Divine communication 
here spoken of— "Because ye are sons, God hath sent 
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, 
Abba, Father." Every thing depends upon our pos- 
sessing this Spirit; for "if any man have not the 



382 May 30.— Morning. 

Spirit of Christ, he is none of his:" but "as many 
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of 
God, and if children then heirs." Hence it is also 
called " the earnest of our inheritance." 

We should therefore be anxious to ascertain whe- 
ther we have received the all-important benefit. And 
it is possible to determine this. For whenever the 
Spirit of Christ takes possession of the heart, its resi- 
dence will be evinced — It will operate there. It finds 
us indeed in darkness, but it opens, the eyes of our 
understanding, and makes us light in the Lord. It 
finds us earthly-minded and cleaving to the dust, but 
it induces us to seek those things that are above. 
The pretensions of a man therefore are vain unless 
he be made to differ from what he once was. The in- 
fluence of the Spirit is compared to leaven in the 
meal, and leaven will work ; to fire, and fire will 
burn; to water, and the spring will flow out in 
streams — If, says the Apostle, " God hath sent forth 
the Spirit of his Son into your hearts," it is not inac- 
tive or silent there, but crying, Abba, Father. Let 
us observe the exercise, and the influence that pro- 
duces it. 

The exercise intended is prayer ; but the repre- 
sentation is peculiar. It is not said what they will 
pray for ; indeed it would be endless to specify their 
wants and desires ; and " for all these things," says 
God, " will I be inquired of by the house of Israel to 
do it for them." But we are told how they pray — 
Crying, Abba, Father. 

Does not this intimate the simplicity of their prayer? 
"Because," says Solomon, "God is in heaven, and 
thou upon the earth, therefore let thy words be few :" 
and how brief, and free from every thing studied and 



May 30.— Mokning. 383 

artificial, are the prayers recorded in the Scriptures, 
and which were offered by persons under the most 
powerful and favourable impressions ! " Heal my 
soul, for I have sinned against thee." " Lord, save, 
I perish." "Grod be merciful to me a sinner." " Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do ?" — Such is the lan- 
guage of feeling — So it is when the heart speaks. 

Does it not intimate the confidence with which they 
pray ? Among the Persians there was a law that 
whosoever presented himself before the king, unless 
he was first called to go in, should be put to death. 
We have no such prohibition. The golden sceptre 
to us is always stretched forth. We have a general, 
a universal invitation to draw near at all times, and in 
all circumstances, in every thing by prayer and sup- 
plication to make known our requests unto Grod : and 
are authorized to address him not as the Infinite, the 
Eternal, the Almighty, the first Cause and the last 
End of all things ; but as our Father, though he is 
in heaven. It is not the Spirit of bondage to fear, but 
the Spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, 
Father. It is not the address of a criminal to a judge; 
nor of a slave to a master: but of a child to a Father, 
to whom he is most intimately related, and who feels 
in him the claims of nature and affection. " I write 
unto you little children," says John, " because ye have 
known the Father." Who is a child so likely to 
know as his father ? What is the first name he utters 
but " my father, or my mother?" To whom is he so 
likely to flee in every danger? On whom in every 
distress will he call so freely for relief? He relies 
upon his care ; he expects that he will teach him, and 
defend him, and provide for him — And will not God 
who stands in this endearing relation exemplify it? 



384 May 30. — Morning. 

And fulfil it perfectly and divinely f Let this there- 
fore encourage and embolden us in our approaches to 
him. 

Does it not also imply earnestness f The word "cry- 
ing" would express this alone ; but here is added to 
it the reduplication, "Father, Father!" This surely 
marks eagerness and fervency. The importance of 
such importunity our Saviour illustrates in the man- 
ner of him who spake as never man spake — " Which 
of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at 
midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three 
loaves ; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to 
me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he 
from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not : 
the door is now shut, and my children are with me in 
bed ; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, 
though he will not rise and give him, because he is 
his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise 
and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto 
you, Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
He himself also was an example of this. "In the 
days of his flesh with strong cryings and tears he 
made supplications to him who was able to save him 
from death:" aud the true condition, exigences, and 
dangers of his followers when realized and felt will 
urge them to pray in the same manner. 

But does not this indicate the accordance of their 
prayers? Whatever distinctions prevail among them, 
the Lord gives them one heart and one way. They 
all kneel before the same mercy-seat ; and address the 
same God, the God of all grace. "Abba" signifies 
father: but the word is Syriac; and this was, when 
Paul wrote, the common language of the Jews. The 



May 30. — Morning. 385 

word rendered father is Greek in the original. And 
thus we see that the same Spirit would actuate the 
inhabitants of every country ; Jews and Gentiles would 
appropriate the same relation. "Is he the God of the 
Jews only ? is he not also of the Gentiles ? Yes of the 
Gentiles also." " For the Scripture saith, Whosoever 
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is 
no difference between the Jew and the Greek : for the 
same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." 
What father is, in China, in Tartary, or among the 
Esquimaux, we know not : but he who made them, 
and gave his Son to die for them, understands all their 
dialects ; and the hour is coming when " the Lord shall 
be king over all the earth : in that day shall there be 
one Lord, and his name one." 

But we here see the source of all this — It is the 
Spirit of God's Son 'in our hearts that "cries, Abba, 
Father." It is therefore called "the Spirit of grace 
and of supplication." And we are said to " pray in 
the Holy Ghost." It is he that shows us our state, 
and causes us to hunger and thirst after righteousness. 
" Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : for 
we know not what we should pray for as we ought : 
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with 
groanings which cannot be uttered." He enables us 
to believe on the Mediator, and thus gives us boldness 
and access with confidence by the faith of- him. He 
makes us spiritually-minded, and renders prayer our 
privilege ; and we feel that is good for us to draw near 
to God. Hence we are constant in the performance 
of it : for if we delight ourselves in the Almighty, we 
shall always call upon God. 

A weighty inference is derivable from hence. We 
cannot say too much in recommendation of prayer 
17 



386 May 30.— Evening. 

with regard to our trials, duties, and improvements. 
Prayer is the life of religion — But what is the life of 
prayer? "The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." 
Wherefore, first, let us not grieve the Holy Spirit, 
and cause him to withdraw or suspend his influences. 
And, secondly, let us pray for the Spirit, that we may 
pray with it. If there be any inconsistency in this, 
our Saviour has sanctioned it: "If ye then, being 
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children : 
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him!" 



MAY 30.— EVENING. 
"Ask of me." Ps. ii. 8. 

— This is the condition of a very important grant 
— Ask of me — and I shall give thee the heathen for 
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
for thy possession. 

Whatever appears humiliating in the condition to 
which the Saviour submitted, let it be remembered 
that he entered it voluntarily, and knowingly. He 
was aware that if the children were partakers of flesh 
and blood, he likewise himself must also take part in 
the same ; and that in all things it behoved him to be 
made like unto his brethren. He must therefore not 
only suffer, but obey ; and though he was a Son, yet 
learned he obedience. He must therefore pray. 
Prayer is the act of an inferior nature ; and the Word 
was made flesh. Though rich, he became poor ; and 
made himself of no reputation. 

Many objections are made to prayer. Some of them 
are specious ; but they are all founded on ignorance. 



May 30.— Evening. 387 

The best way to answer them is to take our stand on 
the Scripture, and make our appeal. Does not God 
derive his character and glory from his hearing prayer ? 
Is not his Spirit the Spirit of grace and supplication ? 
Is not this his command — is not this his promise — 
"Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall 
find?" Does He dispense with this, even in the case 
of his own Son ? And can it be dispensable with 
regard to us ? We know his determination : For all 
these things I will yet be inquired of by the house of 
Israel to do it for them — u Ask, and I shall give thee." 

But how was he to ask? First, when he was on 
earth, he prayed like one of us. He prayed alone, 
and in company with his disciples ; he prayed in the 
Wilderness, and in the Garden, and on the Cross: 
"In the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and 
supplication, with strong crjing and tears, unto him 
that was able to save him from death, and was heard 
in that he feared." Secondly, he continued the pre- 
sentation of his desire when he entered heaven. We 
know not whether this was done vocally ; but it was 
done really. Thirdly, he does it relatively. Thus 
prayer is made for him continually. And whenever 
individuals, ministers, and churches, pray for the 
success of his cause — He is asking. 

And his prayer, and our praying, are founded on 
the same consideration — his sufferings and death. It 
was said, that when the Father should make his soul 
an offering for sin, he should see his seed, and prolong * 
■his days, and the pleasure of the Lord should prosper 
in his hands ; he should see of the travail of his soul, 
and should be satisfied. This was the joy set before 
him : and, having fulfilled the awful condition on which 
it was suspended, he pleads for it — He therefore asks, 



388 Mat 31.— Morning. 

in his ovm Name, and on. his own behalf. And we ask 
on the same behalf, and in the same Name : according to 
his own direction, " Whatsoever ye shall ask, believing, 
in my Name, ye shall receive." 

And this should encourage and embolden us. 
There can be no more uncertainty attending the suc- 
cess of our asking than of his ; for herein we are iden- 
tified with him. There is no unfaithfulness with God ; 
and he hath said, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee 
the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost 
parts of the earth for thy possession." 

If our prayers are sincere, they must be influential ; 
and we shall exert ourselves in the Redeemer's cause. 
Nor can we labor in vain. We are on the sure, the 
rising, the prevailing side. Merchants, heroes, poli- 
ticians, may all weary themselves for very vanity. 
We are at a certainty. A king shall reign and pros- 
per. " His Name shall endure for ever: his Name 
shall be continued as long as the sun : and men shall 
be blessed in him : all nations shall call him blessed. 
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only 
doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious 
Name for ever : and let the whole earth be filled with 
his glory. Amen, and Amen." 



MAY 81.— MORNING. 

"And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, 
and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them." Luke xxiv. 30. 

This was not a sacramental meal ; as when he took 
bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and said, This is 
my body. Neither was it a miraculous meal ; as when 
he took the loaves and blessed them r and multiplied 



May 31.— Mokning. 389 

them. But an ordinary meal; Yet he blessed the 
food. And this he did always ; And his example has 
the force of a law with all his followers — For, "he 
that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also 
so to walk even as he walked." Hence the command, 
•• Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the 
Name of the Lord Jesus;" that is, as his disciples, 
who are not only to believe in him, but to represent 
him. 

From his observing this practice, we may be sure 
that it is wise, and useful, and necessary. Sin has 
brought a curse upon all our enjoyments ; and the 
blessing of God alone can take it off. 

" How sweet our daily comforts prove, 
When they are season'd with His love !" 
But how true — 

" Tis all in vain till God has bless'd." 

" Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word 
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Can he 
also abuse the bounties of Providence, who has im- 
plored the Divine benediction upon the use of them ? 
Can he indulge in excess ? — Will he not add to his 
faith temperance? It is lamentable, therefore, that 
such # a duty should ever be omitted — or performed 
with haste and irreverence — as if the performer was 
ashamed of the performance. 

Let the Saviour's conduct also teach us not to con- 
fine our religion to extraordinary and sacred occasions. 
In all our ways let us acknowledge God. Morning 
and evening worship is good: but let us be in the 
fear of the Lord all the day long. It is well to inquire 
in his temple : but let us abide with God in our calling. 



390 Mat 31.— Evening. 

We must remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy ; 
but the spirit of devotion is to actuate us during the 
week, and to induce us, whether we eat or drink, or 
whatever we do, to do all to the glory of God. Tell 
me not what a man is in a storm — in the calm what 
is he ? Not how he behaves himself in sickness — but 
in health. A Balaam may pray, Let me die the death 
of the righteous. A David prays, Unite my heart to 
fear thy Name. There is a goodness which depends 
upon impulse, not principle ; upon outward excite- 
ment, not upon internal disposition. 

There is a devotion that resembles the blaze of 
straw ; but that which is spiritual is like the fire on 
the Jewish altar — kindled from above, and which never 
went out. It is a stream fed by a living fountain ; not 
a sudden torrent, however wide or impetuous at the 
time, produced by the melting of the snow, or a sum- 
mer's thunder shower. The water, says the Saviour, 
that I "shall give him shall be in him a well of water 
springing up into everlasting life. 

MAY 31.— EVENING. 

"That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for 
God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for 
refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." Heb. vi. 18. 

One of these two things was his promise ; the other 
was his oath. The Apostle acknowledges that both 
of them were immutable. Why then was the latter 
added to the former ? Not to constitute, but to shew 
the immutability of his counsel. It was not to bind 
himself, but it was for our sakes, that in the conde 
cension of his kindness he might remove from our 
minds all suspicion of his veracity, by adopting the 



May 31.— Evening. 391 

last mode of appeal among men; "For verily men 
swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is 
to them an end of all strife" — God therefore swears ; 
and because he could swear by no greater, he swears 
by himself — "As I live, saith the Lord, I have no 
pleasure in the death of him that dieth" — " Their sins 
and their iniquities will I remember no more" — " I will 
never leave thee nor forsake thee — as sure as I am 
God." Four things result from hence. 

We, First, see how hard it is to comfort the con- 
science, and to inspire us with "a strong consolation," 
not only while we are fleeing for refuge to lay hold on 
the hope set before us, but even after we have fled, 
We have a controversy with God, and we know that 
he has much ground against us ; and a consciousness ot 
guilt makes us timid and suspicious. Under a sense 
of our unworthiness the very greatness of the blessing 
will astonish us into incredulity : " It is too good to be 
true, at least with regard to such a wretch as I am." 
Men are frail and false, and we ourselves are weak and 
changeable; and in judging of him we insensibly 
transfer something of this to God, if we do not think 
liim altogether such an one as ourselves. How natu- 
ral and justifiable it seems to give up persons after 
numberless provocations of ingratitude and vileness ! 
Dark providences apparently oppose the promises: 
deep and lengthened afflictions depress and weaken 
the mind, and betray us to think that God has forgot- 
ten to be gracious. The blessing we so much desire 
seems to recede as we advance after it ; and hope de- 
ferred maketh the heart sick. We look at our work 
and our danger ; and yet feel more of our ignorance 
and weakness. Experience can not only attest all 
this, but also add much to the representation. But 



392 May 31.— Evening. 

here is enough to depress and intimidate — and we 
may be assured that God does nothing in vain — but 
he who knows what is in man judged it necessary, not 
only to speak, but to swear; "that by two immutable 
things" he might comfort and establish our hearts. 

We see, Secondly, How concerned he is for the 
consolation of his people. He takes pleasure in the 
prosperity of his servants ; and they never appear to 
such advantage as when they walk in the light of his 
countenance, rejoice in his name all the day, and in his 
righteousness are exalted. It is then they do honour 
to their religion, and commend the ways of godliness 
to others — " Here are people who are happy in this 
vale of tears. What we seek after constantly, and 
never come in sight of, they have found. Their 
hearts are at rest. How goodly are thy tents, O 
Jacob; and thy tabernacles, O Israel! Let me die 
the death of the righteous, and let my last end be 
like his." The joy of the Lord is not only their or- 
nament, but their strength. It enlivens them in 
duty : they never run in the way of his command- 
ments so freely as when God has enlarged their hearts. 
It emboldens them in their profession — It raises thenx 
above the fear of man — It weans them from the world 
— It bears them up under the trials of life — It raises 
them above the fear of death. He therefore that is in- 
finitely concerned for their welfare, and knows perfectly 
wherein it consists, would have them not only safe, 
but tranquil; not only holy, but joyful; not only 
walking in the fear of the Lord, but in the comforts 
of the Holy Ghost; not only possessing real, but 
"strong consolation." 

We, Thirdly, perceive, What a foundation is laid 
for the effectual solace of the subjects of divine grace. 



May 31. — Evening. 

"What mare could God have done than he has done to 
meet their infirmities, and disperse all their discourage- 
ments? — We have not only his word but his oath. 
Surely he has not only given them "a good hope 
through grace," but provided amply for "the full as- 
surance of hope unto the end." Surely confidence 
becomes them as well as self-abasement. Surely they 
ought to attain a certainty of mind, and to be filled 
with all joy and peace in believing. And why are 
they not decided? Why do they yet walk mournfully 
before the Lord ? 

" Whence then should doubts and fears arise ? 
Why trickling sorrows drown our eyes ? 
Slowly, alas ! our mind receives 

The comforts that our Maker gives." 

Lastly, we learn the perverseness and vileness of 
unbelief. There is nothing of which men are more 
tenacious than their reputation for truth. The least 
imputation thrown upon their veracity, rouses them 
to demand satisfaction for the unpardonable offence 
— though it has only regarded their mere word, and 
not the added solemnity and sanction of an oath. 
What has God, who is conscious that he is faithfulness 
itself — what has he to bear with from us ! Unbelief 
not only contradicts him ; not only gives him the lie, 
but accuses him of perjury-—" I no more depend upon 
thy oath than upon thy word" — And yet the thunder 
stays ! 

What do we in our retirement? To how little 
purpose shall we humble ourselves before God, unless 
we principally grieve over our slowness of heart to 
believe! Every thing else will be hacking at the 
boughs with a feather — We must "lay the axe to the 
17* 



394 June 1. — Morning. 

root of the tree" — an "evil heart of unbelief in de- 
parting from the living God." "Lord, I believe — 
help thou mine unbelief." 



JUNE 1.— MORNING. 
" I am the vine." John xv. 5. 

Ministers are not to preach themselves, but Christ 
Jesus the Lord. But he was his own subject — He 
preached himself. How could he have done otherwise, 
concerned as he was to be useful ? for 

" None but Jesus, none but Jesus 
Can do helpless sinners good." 

And he knew this far better than we do. — And who 
was able to declare what he truly was so well as him- 
self? 

— Here he calls himself the vine. A very easy and 
natural image. And natural images are the most 
preferable in Divine things. Many writers and 
preachers love those allusions which shew their learn- 
ing, and which the uneducated cannot understand. 
Our Saviour never takes his comparisons from the 
sciences, and seldom from the arts ; but from natural 
scenery which is obvious and intelligible to all. 

A vine is not so remarkable in its appearance as 
many other trees. In loftiness, it yields to the cedar. 
In strength, to the oak. In sightliness, to the palm 
tree and the fir. The greatness of Jesus was spiritual. 
He had no earthly pomp and riches. Like his king- 
dom, he was not of this world. Hence it was said, 
" He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and 
as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor 



June 1. — Mokning. 395 

comeliness ; and when we shall see him there is no 
beauty that we should desire him." 

The vine is renowned for its fertility. One single vine, 
planted by the Empress Lavinia, yielded one hundred 
and eight gallons of wine in one year — Many grapes 
grow on one cluster, many clusters on one branch, and 
many branches on one tree. How many have been 
saved by the Lord Jesus ! In him all fulness dwells. 
In him we are blessed with all spiritual blessings. 
What clusters were brought from Eschol, to shew 
Israel the goodliness and fruitfulness of Canaan ! And 
what specimens of heaven ; what earnests of the in- 
heritance ; what firstfruits of the Spirit, do faith and 
hope bring believers from him, even while they are 
in the Wilderness ! 

The nature of the produce of the vine is delightful 
and profitable. The fruit is sweet to the taste. The 
juice it yields cheers and makes glad the heart of man 
— Give wine to those that be of heavy hearts. It was 
sometimes used medicinally. The good Samaritan 
poured oil and wine into the wounds of the bleeding 
traveller. And he brings us health, and cure, and 
comfort, and delight, and more than angels' food : for 

" Never did angels taste, above, 
Redeeming grace and dying love." 

The vine also yields shade ; and it was valued for this 
purpose in the East. Hence we so often read in the 
Scripture of sitting under the vine and the fig tree. 
They had walks and bowers made of these ; and while 
the fruit refreshed them, the shelter screened them 
from the sun. And he is a shadow from the heat ; and 
rescues us from the evil of every annoyance to which 
.we are exposed. I sat, says the Church, under his 



396 June 1. — Evening. 

shadow with delight, and his fruit was sweet to my 
taste. 

The image, therefore, is pleasing and striking, and 
aids us in our conception of him, and communion with 
him. Yet it teaches us as much by contrast as by 
comparison. A vine is not always green. It does 
not always bear. It never bears twelve manner of 
fruits. It does not endure for ever — But all this is 
true of him. 

The fruit of the vine, if taken too largely, will injure 
the partaker ; but there is no danger here — while we 
are forbidden to be drunk with wine, wherein is ex- 
cess, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. 
The produce of the vine is only for the body, and for 
time ; but his benefits are for the soul, and eternity. 
Many cannot obtain the advantages of the vine ; but 
none, however poor and mean, are excluded from the 
participations of Christ. The image, therefore, is but 
a humble one ; and falls far- short of his glory. So 
does every thing that is employed to shew forth his 
worth, his glory, or his grace. 

" Nor earth, nor seas, nor sun, nor stars, 
Nor heaven, his full resemblance bears : 
His beauties we can never trace 
Till we behold him face to face." 



JUNE 1.— EVENING. 
" Ye are the branches." John xv. 5. 

For whatever He is, they have a relation corre- 
sponding with it. Thus, if he is the king, they are the 
subjects. If he is the shepherd, they are the sheep. 
If he is the head, they are the members. Therefore 



June 1. — Evening. 397 

having said to his disciples, I am the vine, he adds — 
Ye are the branches. 

This reminds us of their union with him. The 
vine and the branches are connected. The latter are 
even parts of the former ; and it would be absurd for 
a person to say, I did not hurt the vine ; I only in- 
jured the branches. Why persecutest thou met said 
the Saviour to Saul, who was only persecuting his 
followers. He that touches them, touches the apple 
of his eye. And, as he is sensible of their wrongs, so 
he feels every kindness shewn them ; and says, Inas- 
much as ye did it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye did it unto me. 

This gives them a character of likeness. The 
branches are the very same kind of wood as the vine ; 
and the very same sap pervades them both. And 
they that are joined to the Lord are of one spirit. 
The same mind is in them which was also in Christ 
Jesus. 

This shews their dependence. " The righteous 
shall flourish as a branch ;" but the branch does not 
bear the tree, but the tree the branch. Whatever like- 
ness there may be, in all things he has the preemi- 
nence. He is our life and strength. Abide, says he, 
in me : as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex- 
cept it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye 
abide in me : for without me ye can do nothing. 

This proclaims their usefulness. The branches are 
the beauty and excellency of the vine ; and by these, 
its vigour and fertility are displayed. He is glorified 
in his people. He makes them to blossom and yield 
fruit. He diffuses his goodness through their prayers 
and lives. In him is their fruit found, as to its source 
and support — but they bear it — they are the branches 



June 2. — Morning. 

— they are filled with, all the fruits of righteousness, 
which are, by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise 
of God. 

Let me learn one thing from all this. Let me ac- 
custom myself to derive spiritual reflections from all 
the material objects around me. A taste for natural 
scenery is pleasing and good in itself. But let me not 
approach it, as a creature, only to enjoy ; or a philo- 
sopher, only to admire — but as a Christian also, to 
improve. Let sense be a handmaid to faith. Let 
that which is seen and temporal, raise me to that 
which is unseen and eternal. 



JUNE 2.— MORNING. 

" Be thou my strong habitation, ^hereunto I may continually re- 
sort." Psalm lxxi. 3. 

On what particular occasion this psalm was com- 
posed it would not be easy to determine. Neither is it 
necessary ; or perhaps even desirable. It is sufficient 
to see that David was in much affliction, but well 
knew that God was his refuge and strength, a very 
present help in trouble. Therefore to him he 
turns with this pathetic language ; " Be thou my 
strong habitation, whereunto I may continually re- 
sort." 

It is well to take advantage of our present feelings 
and circumstances to aid us in our communion with 
God. Many have supposed that David was now suf- 
fering from the rebellion of his son Absalom. If there 
be truth in the notion, it is not difficult to imagine 
the scene. Behold him greyheaded ; the fire of 
youth that had heroically encountered the lion, and 



June 2. — Morning. 399 

the bear, and the Philistine, damped by the chilness of 
age ; his chief counsellor betraying him ; the hearts 
of the people stolen from him ; his army inadequate 
to his defence ; himself forced from his palace ; flee- 
ing from place to place an exile in his own country ; 
and full of uncertainty as to the issue — at such a 
time how natural, and suitable, and satisfying, must 
it have been to realize God as his hiding-place, rest- 
ing-place, dwelling-place — the strength and the home 
of his heart ! 

What so pitiable as a homeless wretch ? A Chris- 
tian can never be in this condition. There is nothing 
for which we should be more thankful than domestic 
peace and comfort : and there are some whose abode 
abounds with every attraction and delight. But how 
different is the state of others ! They have been 
stripped of " lover* and friend :" those with whom 
they " took sweet counsel together and walked to the 
house of God in company," are no more : their means 
of hospitality and enjoyment are reduced to straits 
and privation ; or they feel some heart's bitterness 
known only to themselves, and which they are not at 
liberty to divulge — Thus " thorns are in their taber- 
nacle," and they are ready to cry, " O that I had 
wings like a dove, for then would I flee away and be 
at rest." But you need not flee from your condition ; 
rest may be found in it — in the bosom of your God 
and Saviour. And the less happiness you have in 
the creature, the more you should repair to his all- 
sumciency. Your distresses are designed to urge you 
to him ; and if they have this effect, it will be good 
+ or you that you have been afflicted. Thus fine wea- 
tner leads us abroad, and we sometimes take long 
walks : but clouds and storms hasten us homeward. 



400 June 2. — Morning. 

David would find and enjoy God, not only as his 
habitation, but as his " strong" habitation — such an 
habitation as would not fall by decay, nor be thrown 
down by violence, nor entered by any enemy ; in 
which the inhabitant would not only be free from 
danger, but feel himself secure. But every earthly 
strong-hold, however befriended by nature or indebt- 
ed to art, is only a shadow of the safety the believer 
finds in the perfections and covenant engagements of 
God. No force, no stratagem of men or devils can 
prevail to destroy or injure him who has made the 
Lord his trust. He is kept by the power of God 
through faith unto salvation : and when he can realize 
it by faith, his soul dwells at ease ; and he is in quiet 
from the fear of evil. 

He would also make use of him under the charac- 
ter of his strong habitation — " Whereunto I may con- 
tinually resort." Would he then want to repair to 
him always ? Our necessities, our work, our danger 
require it constantly. We are commanded to pray 
without ceasing. And if, while we acknowledge and 
feel the obligation, we are renewed in the spirit of our 
mind, we shall not lament it. Loving him as well as 
depending upon him, we shall find it good to draw 
near to God, and delight ourselves in the Almighty. 
And we shall never find him, when we want him, in- 
accessible. There is a way to our strong habitation, 
and we know the way. There is a door, and we have 
the key. No sentinel keeps us back ; the dwelling is 
our own ; and who dares to forbid us all its accommo- 
dations and contents ? 

Kings, however disposed, cannot be always ap- 
proachable. Owing to the multitude of their claims, 
and the limitation of their powers, and the importance 



June 2. — Evening. 401 

of keeping up a sense of their dignity, they are only 
accessible at certain times, and with stately formali- 
ties. But the King of kings allows us to come boldly 
to the throne of grace : and enjoins us in every thing, 
by prayer and supplication, to make known our re- 
quests unto him. We cannot be too importunate, or 
by our continual coming weary him. 

Who is like unto thee among the gods ? Teach 
and enable me to improve my privilege. Thou art 
the God of my salvation ; on thee do I wait all the 
day. 

JUNE 2.— EVENING. 

" They went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that 
shame." Hosea ix. 10. 

That is, to that shameful idol. Many seem dis- 
posed to consider idolatry rather as a foolish and 
harmless thing than as a serious evil. But the Scrip- 
tures speak of abominable idolatries, and always con- 
nect such worships with the most infamous passions 
and vices. History attests the same fact; and the 
more fully and faithfully the subject is examined, the 
more will idolatry appear to be nothing better than 
evil personified, the devil deified, and hell formed 
into a religious establishment. What a force must 
revenge, cruelty, drunkenness, and sensuality acquire 
when not only exempted from punishment, but turned 
into acts of devotion, and considered as services which 
would render them acceptable to the divinity adored ! 
We cannot enter into exemplifications — It were a 
shame to speak of those things which were done of 
them in secret. Who would not encourage Mission- 
ary exertions ! Who would not cry, day and night, 



402 June 2. — Evening. 

Let thy way be known on earth, thy saving health 
among all nations ! 

But what is said of Baal-Peor will apply to any 
kind of transgression. When you addict yourselves 
to sin, you separate yourselves to shame. Hence, 
says God, " Thou shalt remember, and be confounded, 
and never open thy mouth more, because of thy shame ;" 
that is, thy sin. Sin is very properly called shame, 
for it is the most scandalous business in the world, 
and sooner or later will cover a man with ignominy. 
It degrades every thing pertaining to him, and makes 
him viler than the earth. Indeed nothing else is truly 
shameful. It is not shameful that you are obliged to 
labour ; though it is shameful if you do nothing, or 
have nothing to do — I would rather, says Seneca, 
be sick than idle. It is not shameful that you are 
poor : unless your indigence is the offspring of vice. 
It is not shameful to suffer, unless you are the mar- 
tyrs of Satan — But it is shameful to be a sinner. Is 
it not shameful to go uncovered and naked? To 
possess reason, and play the part of an idiot ? To be 
a coward and flee when no man pursueth ? To have 
liberty at command, and submit to be a slave? To 
be a thief, and a robber of churches ? To be a traitor 
to the best of sovereigns; a betrayer of the kindest 
of friends ? To be admitted by a benefactor to his 
table, and enjoy every supply and indulgence; and 
then endeavour to stab him to the heart? They who 
are familiar with the word of truth know that these 
and many other images are employed by the sacred 
writers to express the disgracefulness of the sinner's 
conduct. 

We may consider the shamefulness of sin three 



June % — Evening. 403 

ways. First, as a penal effect — This is principally 
future. Of Israel we read, " They shall never be 
ashamed or confounded, world without end." Ami 
John tells us that Christians will "have confidence, 
and not be ashamed before him at his coming." But 
the reverse is true of the wicked, and we are assured 
that they will "rise to everlasting shame and con- 
tempt." And no wonder — when they find what they 
have sacrificed, and for what they have parted with 
it ; when they find what they have incurred, and how 
they were warned of it, and admonished against it, 
and might have escaped it; when they find how they 
are laid open from every disguise and concealment, 
and their secret sins published in the hearing of men 
and angels as well as of the Judge — Then will they 
call upon the rocks and mountains, not so much to 
crush as to cover them from the scorn of the universe. 
But the penalty begins here; even here a wicked 
man is loathsome, and cometh to shame ; and, even 
when secured from legal inflictions, he draws upon 
himself disgrace, and has "many a curse." 

Secondly, as a natural emotion. Thus, when Adam 
and Eve had transgressed, they hid themselves among 
the trees of the garden ; so closely did shame tread on 
the heels of sin. This class of feelings may in a great 
measure be subdued by continuance in sin, which is 
of a hardening nature. We read of some who "hide 
not their sin, as Sodom." Jeremiah says, " Were they 
ashamed when they had committed abomination? 
Yea, they were not ashamed, neither could they 
blush." But though shame is not a universal, it is a very 
general sentiment ; and it is not easy or perhaps possi - 
ble to get rid of it entirely. Before their fellow-crea- 
tures, men may profess what is very inconsistent with 



404 June 2. — Evening. 

their convictions alone ; they may pretend to laugh, 
and to enjoy self-approbation, while their understand- 
ings reproach them as much as their consciences con- 
demn. Why do the wicked repair to corners and 
elude observation, if they were not doing what tended 
to their disparagement, for in many of these cases they 
run no risk unless with regard to their reputation ? If 
not ashamed of their practices, why attempt to deny 
or palliate ? why frame excuses and apologies ? why 
plead ignorance, mistake, surprise, temptation ? why 
ascribe their sins to necessity, or weakness, rather 
than inclination and choice, unless they deem them 
reproachful ? — Hence too the sinner cannot endure to 
be alone : and, though naturally full of self-love and 
admiration, he slips away from his own presence, and 
shuns intercourse with his greatest favourite, himself, 
because he cannot bear to reflect upon his conduct. 
Hence too after a while he renounces the moral world, 
and mingles only with those of his own quality, where 
mutual wickedness prevents mutual accusation, and 
censure, and scorn. 

Thirdly, as a penitential experience. This is the 
result of divine grace. It regards not so much the 
opinion of our fellow-creatures as the judgment of 
God ; not so much our character as our guilt ; not so 
much the punishment as the pollution of sin ; not so 
much its consequences as its odiousness and desert. 
And this extends to every thing sinful. For some 
sins are generally if not universally offensive ; but all 
sin is the abominable thing which the soul of a true 
penitent hates. When a man is enlightened to see 
sin in the glass of the law, and in connexion with the 
glory and goodness of Grod, and in the cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, what self-condemnation and re- 



June 3. — Morning. 405 

proach does he feel! The publican " would not lift 
up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast." 
David cries, " Mine iniquities have taken hold upon 
me that I cannot look up." Ezra said, " O my God, 
I am ashamed to lift up my face to thee ; for our in- 
iquities are increased over our head, and our trespass 
is grown up unto the heavens." Blessed experience ! 
If painful, it is salutary. It attracts the Divine regard. 
It is a time of love, in which he says unto us, "Live." 
" He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sin- 
ned, and perverted that which was right, and it. pro- 
fited me not ; he will deliver his soul from going into 
the pit, and his life shall see the light." " I have 
surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus ; Thou 
hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock 
unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall 
be turned ; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely 
after that I was turned, I repented : and after that I 
was instructed, I smote upon my thigh : I was 
ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear 
the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear 
son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since I spake against 
him, I do earnestly remember him still : therefore my 
bowels are troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy 
upon him, saith the Lord." 



JUNE 3.— MORNING. 
" Which is our hope." 1 Tim. i. 1. 

Much has been said in praise of hope. It has been 
called the mainspring of motion. The soul of enter- 
prise. The balm of life. The soother of care. And 
the healer of sorrow. 



406 June 3.— Morning. 

We are not, however, going to speak of hope in 
general. We, therefore, say nothing of the hope of 
the worldling, which is a thing of nought. Or of the 
hope of the infidel, which is annihilation. Or of the 
hope of the Antinomian, which is a devil's dream. 
Or of the hope of the Pharisee, which is a spider's 
web. Or of the hope of the hypocrite, which is a lie 
in his right hand. But of our hope — as Christians. 
And what is this ? Jesus Christ, says the Apostle — 
he "is our hope." He deserves and realizes the cha- 
racter four ways — He is our hope substantially, meri- 
toriously, efficiently, and exemplarily. 

He is the object of our hope. There be many that 
say, Who will shew us any good ? But any good will 
not answer the wishes of a believer. His supreme 
aim is the — principal, the — only good — It is, to win 
Christ ; to be found in him ; and in him to be blessed 
with all spiritual blessings. — The Christian's hope is 
chiefly laid up for him in heaven. And is not He 
the essence of all the blessedness there ? The place 
is glorious ; but what would it be without his pre- 
sence? The company is attractive: but what would 
friends, and saints, and angels be, without communion 
with Him? — We sometimes hear it said, "Well — we 
are hoping for the same heaven I" But nothing can 
be more false. A natural man is hoping for one kind 
of heaven; a spiritual man for another: and each 
herein follows his peculiar disposition. I cannot hope 
for what I do not love and desire. As a man, I may 
hope for a heaven that shall secure me from hell ; and 
exempt me from all toil and trouble ; and furnish me 
with things in which I feel pleasure. But it is only 
as a Christian, I can long to depart to be with Christ, 
which is far better — 



June 3. — Morning. 407 

He is the ground of our hope. In proportion to 
the use and grandeur of a building should be the 
basis. Nothing can equal the vastness and value of 
the believer's expectation. If we are wise, therefore, 
we shall inquire what is to bear it up. And no other 
foundation can any man lay than that is laid, which 
is Christ. Every thing else we depend upon will 
prove sand. But here is rock : and he that believeth 
on him shall not be ashamed. Yiew him as incarnate 
i — Why is not our condition as hopeless as that of 
devils ? Yerily he took not on him the nature of 
angels ; but he took on him the seed of Abraham — 
Because the children were partakers of flesh and 
blood, he likewise himself also took part of the same. 
He assumed the nature he would save ; and he will 
save, as surely as he assumed it. Yiew him as the 
gift of God — Grod so % loved the world, that he gave 
his only begotten Son. What can discourage us now ? 
If our unworthiness, or the greatness of the blessing, 
could prove a hinderance to the Divine goodness, it 
would have operated earlier ; and he would have with- 
holden from the guilty this unspeakable gift — He that 
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
all, how shall he not with him also give us all things ! 
But his goodness is wise goodness, just goodness. It 
must be as honourable to himself as it is beneficial to 
us — and we behold his Son set forth as a propitiation, 
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness. 
Sin is punished, while it is pardoned. Even the Law 
has nothing to complain of in our deliverance — it is 
much more glorified in our salvation than it would 
have been by our destruction. One died for all : and 
he was infinitely more than all. Do we question 
whether he finished the work that was given him to 



408 June 3. — Morning. 

• do ; and whether it was an offering and a sacrifice to 
God of a sweetsmelling savour ; and whether he shall 
see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied ? Be- 
hold him discharged from the grave, and ascending 
up on high, and receiving gifts for men, even for the 
rebellious, and entering into the holy place, there to 
appear in the presence of God for us ! What can we 
desire more? If while we were enemies we were re- 
conciled to God by the death of his Son, much more 
now, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 
" Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, 
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right 
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." 
Will not this suffice? He raised him up from the 
dead, and gave him glory, that our faith and hope 
might be in God. 

He is the author of our hope. For it is not natural 
to us, neither is it derived from ourselves ; but he 
produces it in us by his Holy Spirit. Means must be 
used ; but the excellency of the power is of him, and 
not of them. Hence says the Apostle to those who 
were glorying in men, Who then is Paul, and who is 
Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as 
the Lord gave to every man ? Every thing in the 
new world is done by the Spirit of Christ. Under a 
conviction of guilt enough to condemn us a thousand 
times over — did we find it an easy thing to hope in 
God at first, and believe that he was pacified towards 
us for all that we had done ? and that we were ac- 
cepted in the Beloved ? Have we proved it an easy 
thing since, to keep this hope lively and flourishing? 
or even to maintain it at all ? How often should we 
have said, My hope is perished from the Lord, and 
have given up all our profession, but for " the supply 



June 3. — Morning. 409 

of the Spirit of Jes as Christ," in glorifying him afresh 
— according to the promise, " He shall receive of mine, 
and shall shew it unto you I" 

He is also the model of our hope. For though he 
is unspeakably more than our example, he is nothing 
less ; and the higher views we have taken of him do 
not hinder, but, indeed, the more require our saying, 
that the same mind which was in him must be in us 
— that we must walk even as he walked — that we 
must pray as he prayed — fear as he feared — and hope 
as he hoped. And how did he hope ? "I will," said 
he, "put my trust in Him." It was not to quote 
prophecy, that his insulters, when he was on the cross, 
said, u He trusted in God; let- him deliver him now, 
if he will have him ; for he said, I am the Son of God" 
— It was to reproach him for the confidence in God, 
which they knew he had professed to exercise. It 
will be well, if our enemies can revile us for nothing 
worse. David seems early to have been dedicated to 
God; but it was in the name of the holy child Jesus 
he spake, when he said, " Thou art he that took me 
out of the womb ; thou didst make me hope when I 
was upon my mother's breast. I was cast upon thee 
from the womb : thou art my God from my mother's 
belly." From his earliest infancy, from the first exer- 
cise of reason he honoured him — Nor did he ever fail 
in his confidence in God. In every extremity he 
trusted in him. Even when in anguish on the cross, 
and dying, he cried, u My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me?" — "Father, into thy hands I com- 
mit my spirit." His confidence, also, was equally 
cheerful. He sung a hymn when he was entering the 
Garden of Gethsemane. Though a man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief, instead of murmuring, he 
18 



410 June 3. — Evening. 

said, "In the midst of the Church will I sing praises 
unto Thee." Thus may I bear the image of the 
heavenly, till he shall appear, and I shall be perfectly 
like him ; for I shall see him as he is. 



JUNE 3.— EVENING. 

" Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, -was glad." 

Acts xi. 23. 

Gtkace means Divine influence ; and is so called 
because it is derived from the free and undeserved 
communication of Grod. But is not this grace an in- 
ternal principle? How then could Barnabas see it? 
He could see it only in the effects. We cannot see 
life in itself; but we can see the sparkling eye, and 
the ruddy countenance, and the outstretched arm, 
and the moving foot. We need not cut down a tree, 
and lay open the body, to see by the grain of the 
wood of what sort it is. There is another and a better 
way — It is, to judge by the bark, the leaves, the 
blossoms, the fruit. "For a good tree bringeth not 
forth corrupt fruit ; neither doth a corrupt tree bring 
forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own 
fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a 
bramble bush gather they grapes." God says, "I will 
put my Spirit within you" — But how can this be seen? 
"And cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall 
keep my judgments, and do them" — This is discernable 
enough. James says, " I will shew thee my faith by 
my works;" that is, I will evince my creed in my 
conduct, and my principles in my practice — And this 
is the most satisfactory mode of shewing them. 

Grod determines to get himself glory by his people 
in this world; and therefore it is said, "all that see 



June 3. — Evening. 411 

them shall acknowledge that they are the seed which 
the Lord hath blessed." But if his grace is to be thus 
seen and owned in them, there must be something in 
them more than experience. We are far from under- 
valuing experience ; there is no real religion without 
it; and it is from your inward dispositions you must 
chiefly assure your own minds before God : but as to 
others, they cannot read your hearts — but they can 
read your lives ; and therefore in your lives your god- 
liness must appear. Therefore it is said, "to the 
prisoners, go forth; to them that are in darkness, shew 
yourselves: they shall feed in the ways, and their 
pasture shall be on all high places." And again : " Let 
your light so shine before men, that they may see your 
good works, and glorify your Father which is in 
heaven." 

Much of the minds' of persons may be discovered, 
by the objects which awaken their attention and de- 
sires when they first enter a place. Some look after 
natural scenery. Some after curiosities. Some after 
kinds and modes of trade. Some after machinery, 
and buildings, and libraries. They that are after the 
flesh do mind the things of the flesh ; but they that are 
after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Barnabas, 
as soon as he came to Antioch, looked about for dis- 
plays and instances of Divine agency ; and when he 
saw the grace of God, "he was glad." The sight 
would not have been pleasing to all. The enemy of 
souls would have been enraged at the prospect. The 
elder brother would not go in to share the joy of the 
father and the family ; and was offended at the Prodi- 
gal's return and reception. So are Pharisees now — 

" While the wide world esteems it strange, 
Gaze aDd admire, and hate the change." 



412 June 3.— Evening. 

But salvation is "the pleasure of the Lord. 5 ' 
Angels, in the presence of God, rejoice over one sinner 
that repenteth. And every convert may say, with 
the Eoyal Penitent, "They that fear thee will rejoice 
when they see me, because I have hoped in thy 
truth"— 

Love to God made Barnabas rejoice. What is 
every sinner called by grace but an accession to his 
subjects; an enemy turned into a friend; who shall 
shew forth his praise by living to his glory, and by 
being a monument of his mercy and power ? " Instead 
of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of 
the brier shall come up the myrtle tree : and it shall 
be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that 
shall not be cut off." 

Benevolence made him glad. And Barnabas was 
a good man, as well as full of the Holy Ghost and of 
faith. What generous mind can see without feelings 
of pleasure the hungry fed, the destitute clothed, the 
sick recovered, the captive loosened from his chains ? 
But what is every other deliverance compared with 
salvation from the evil of sin? What is every other 
acquisition to the gain of that godliness which is pro- 
fitable unto all things, having promise of the life that 
now is and of that which is to come ? He prospers 
whose soul prospers and is in health. He is free indeed 
whom the Son makes free. He is rich who has the 
gold tried in the fire. And every subject of divine 
grace is not only blessed in himself, but is made a 
blessing to others. He is now become one of those 
who, by their prayers, example, and endeavours, are 
the greatest benefactors of the human race. They 
are " a dew from the Lord ; as showers upon the grass." 
" For them the wilderness and solitary place shall be 



June 3. — Evening. 413 

made glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as 
the rose." When we see a sinner turned into the way 
of life, who can imagine what he may become ? That 
persecutor now asking, Lord, what wilt thou have me 
to do ? may preach the faith that once he destroyed. 
That profane tinker now beginning to weep and pray, 
may become a writer, and, by his Pilgrim's Progress 
and Holy War, may charm and edify the Church to 
the end of time. 

Barcabas rejoiced as a minister. Some enter the 
sacred calling, only looking after support, emolument, 
or fame. The salvation of souls is nothing to them. 
But with "a man of God" it is the end of his office, 
the answer of his prayers, the reward of his labours, 
his best hire. Such a man has the spirit of his func- 
tion ; and among all bis tribulations nothing comforts 
him like success in the conversion and edification of 
his hearers — he lives if they stand fast in the Lord. 

But Barnabas, though a minister, had not been the 
means of producing the grace of God which he saw ; 
yet he was glad when he saw it. Some cannot rejoice 
in the good done by others, especially by those who 
are not of their own community. They would con- 
fine the work of the Lord to the pale of their own 
denomination; and are grieved rather than pleased 
when they see another casting out devils in his 
name, because he walketh not with them. But a 
Barnabas can say, not only, " Let him alone," but, 
"Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus 
Christ in sincerity." Let God employ and bless what 
instruments he pleases — Therein I rejoice, yea, and 
will rejoice. 



414 June 4. — Morning. 

JUNE 4.— MORNING. - 
" The woman then left her waterpot." John iv. 28. 

Three reasons may be assigned for this — 
Perhaps she left it from kindness to our Saviour 
and his disciples. His disciples had gone into the city 
to buy meat, and had just returned : and they were 
now going to partake of their homely fare. But for 
beverage, they had nothing to draw with, and the well 
was deep. She therefore leaves them her vessel, to 
enable them to draw and drink. Female kindness, 
and contrivance and accommodation, are as quick as 
thought ; and never need a prompter. I admire the 
simplicity of early hospitality. See Eebekah with 
Abraham's steward: "And she said, Drink, my lord; 
and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her 
hand, and gave him drink." Ah ! ye generous hearts ! 
who wish to do good, and feel your want of power — 
do what you can. And remember the Saviour's words : 
" Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these 
little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a 
disciple, verily, I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose 
his reward." 

Perhaps she left it from indifference. She was now 
so impressed and occupied with infinitely greater and 
better things, that she forgets the very errand that 
brought her to the well. The feelings of new con- 
verts are peculiarly strong and lively. The eternal 
realities and glories that open to their view dazzle 
their minds, and render them incapable of distinctly 
observing other objects. Considering the infirmity of 
our nature, it is not to be wondered at, if the powers 
of the world to come, and the " one thing needful"— 



June 4. — Morning. 415 

the care of the soul, should, for the time, engross all 
their attention, and make them too heedless of other 
claims. 

Hence what we should censure in others, we excuse 
in young beginners, especially if they are suddenly 
awakened. I say, excuse — for we never wish to j ustify 
ignorance, imprudence, and rashness. God is not the 
God of confusion: "Let every thing," says the Apos- 
tle, "be done decently, and in order." Keligion is not 
to draw us off from our business and callings. Neither 
are we to leave our places and stations in life, even in 
pursuit of things good in themselves. When the 
demoniac had been dispossessed, he besought the Sa- 
viour that he might be with him — Yet " Jesus suffered 
him not;" but said, Return to thine own house, and 
shew how great things God hath done for thee. And 
says Paul to the Thessalonians, " Study to be quiet, 
and to do your own business, and to work with your 
own hands" — to provide things honest in the sight of 
all men ; to maintain your families without depend- 
ence ; and have, to give to him that needeth ; and to 
preserve your religion from censure. We are not, 
therefore, to abandon our waterpots. We are not to 
be careless of our worldly substance; but to preserve 
and use it. Witness the cautions in Scripture against 
suretyship, and backing bills, and the admonition, 
" Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing 
be lost" — Yet those who are born from above, and 
bound for glory, are only strangers and pilgims upon 
earth : and they who have found the pearl of great 
price, will not, and cannot, feel towards worldly 
things as they once did. They cannot be so anxious 
to gain them; so overjoyed in possessing them; so de- 
pressed in losing them. And they will be willing to 



416 June 4. — Evening. 

forsake whatever the service of God requires them to 
part with, however dear or valuable. Thus Matthew, 
sitting at the receipt of custom, upon hearing the call, 
" Follow me," "arose, and followed him." 

Perhaps she left it, as it would have proved a hin- 
derance to her speed. The king's business requires 
haste. In this she was now engaged; and, burning 
with zeal, she could not bear the thought of losing a 
moment in communicating the knowledge she pos- 
sessed ; and of saying to her neighbours, Come, see a 
man which told me all things that ever I did — Is not 
this the Christ? She knew the importance of the 
case. And she knew the brevity and uncertainty of 
the opportunity. It was not the gratification of their 
curiosity — it was their life. And if he withdrew from 
the well before they arrived, the day of their visitation 
might never return. 

Upon the same principles, let us get rid of every 
impediment, and avoid every delay, not only in gain- 
ing good for ourselves, but in doing good to others. 
All is pending — upon the moment! "Whatsoever 
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. There 
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, 
in the grave, whither thou goest." 



JUNE 4.— EVENING. 

" O my God, my soul is cast down within me : therefore will I re- 
member thee." Psaxm xlii. 6. 

Afflictions are often in the Scriptures called 
temptations and trials. The reason is, because they 
serve to prove and evince our principles, dispositions, 
and resources. It is natural, and almost unavoidable 



June 4. — Evening. 417 

for men in difficulties and distresses to repair to some- 
thing that promises to afford deliverance, or at least 
to temper the bitterness of sorrow. And as every 
creature is insufficient to succour them, their applica- 
tions are various and numerous, and none of them are 
available. Therefore at last, disappointed and con- 
founded, they class the comforts with the crosses, and 
the good with the evil, and acknowledge " all is 
vanity and vexation of spirit." 

The believer has only one resource ; but this is an 
adequate, and an infinite relief. And therefore, in- 
stead of running up and down the earth, asking, 
" Who will shew me any good ?" he says, " Eeturn 
unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt 
bountifully with thee." It is not improper, as a 
brother is born for -adversity, to go to a dear and 
valued connexion, and, pouring out tears into his 
bosom, say, O my friend, my soul is cast dovf n within 
me — But it is better for the eye to pour out tears 
unto God ! Far better to look upward, and say, with 
David, " my God, my soul is cast down within 
me"— 

David claims God as Ms God. And how desirable 
is it when we address him, especially in trouble, to be 
able to deal with him on the ground of assured inter- 
est in him ! It is therefore promised ; "I will bring 
the third part through the fire, and will refine them 
as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried : 
they shall call on my name, and I will hear them : I 
will say, It is my people : and they shall say, the 
Lord is my God." 

Yet his claim does not hinder his complaint. Many 
are perplexed by what, if properly viewed, might 
rather encourage them. They exclaim, " If I am 
18* 



418 June 4. — Evening. 

his, why am I thus ?" Not considering that they are 
thus because they are his. They are pruned because 
they are vines ; they are put in the furnace because 
they are gold ; they are chastened because they are 
sons — for what son is he whom the father chasteneth 
not? They think their depressions are peculiar — 
But David was a man after God's own heart, and had 
more experimental religion than any individual before 
the coming of Christ ; yet he was not only afflicted, 
but his distress broke through to his mind, and pressed 
him down to the ground — "My soul is cast down 
within me." While all is calm and vigour within, 
the pressure of outward calamity is easily borne. 
The spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity ; but a 
wounded spirit who can bear ? — and who can cure ? 
Only the God of all grace, and the God of all comfort. 
Let us therefore go to him. He alone can alter the 
state and frame of our minds who has access to them, 
and dominion over them. When a watch is disordered, 
to have it examined and rectified we naturally take 
it to the maker, who knows all its powers and move- 
ments : so God is the former of our spirits, and he 
can set them right again — "Therefore" says David, 
" I will remember thee." 

Such a resolution is not natural to us. God de- 
serves indeed our remembrance, and is perpetually 
demanding it. He addresses us by his word; he 
speaks to us by conscience — but in vain. He endea- 
vours to awaken our attention and regard by a profu- 
sion of benefits — but though the ox knoweth his 
owner, and the ass his master's crib, we do not know 
or consider. He therefore tries a different expediency 
— " I will go and return to my place till they acknow- 
ledge their offence and seek my face ; in their afflic- 



June 4. — Evening. 419 

tion they will seek me early." What we refused to 
see and hear we are made to feel. His captivity led 
Manasseh to pray to the God of his father. The 
famine made the Prodigal think of his father's house. 
What brought so many to our Saviour in the days of 
his flesh but personal and relative trouble ? It is the 
same now. He breaks up our earthly prospects, and 
then presents a better country to our pursuit. He 
removes the human arm on which we leaned, and 
then offering his own, says, " There — take hold of my 
strength." He hedges up our way with thorns, and 
makes a wall, that we cannot find our paths while 
following after our lovers ; so that we have only one 
passage open — and this is to go back — and back we 
must return — if we would find him whom we had for- 
saken — for he remains where he was — and instead of re- 
jecting us, cries, " Return, ye backsliding children, 
and I will heal your backslidings." 

And thus the same method which brings God to 
our remembrance at first is useful after in the whole 
of our religious life, for the same purpose. For we 
are not already perfect. Our affections are sometimes 
chilled, and our minds are often turned away from our 
portion by other things. And there is peculiar danger 
of this evil in easy and prosperous circumstances. It 
is when our gourd flourishes, and we sit under its 
shadow with delight, that we are ready to say, " It 
is good for us to be here :" and so " to forget our 
resting-place." But God loves us too well to suffer us 
to take up with anything short of himself. He does 
not stand in need of us ; but he knows that without 
him we are miserable. He therefore brings us into 
conditions which shew us the weakness and wretch- 
edness of the creature; and induce us to inquire 



420 June 5.- -Mobning. 

" Where is God my maker that giveth songs in the 
night ?" Then we think of him — And whom can we 
think of so properly and efficiently in the hour of dis- 
tress ? When therefore our souls are cast down with- 
in us, let us remember him. Let us remember his 
power. Is any thing too hard for the Lord ? Let us 
remember his wisdom. He knows how to afflict ; and 
he knows how to deliver. Let us remember his good- 
ness. Our welfare is his aim in every dispensation, 
however trying. He spared not his own Son. Let 
us remember his providence. He is always near us. 
He numbers the hairs of our head. Let us remember 
his holy covenant. What promises does it contain ! 
It insures every thing we need. This was all David's 
salvation, and all his desire. — This is my comfort in 
my affliction ; thy word hath quickened me — And how 
many can say after him — 

' ' Had not thy word been my delight, 
When earthly joys were fled ; 
My soul, oppress'd with sorrow's weight, 
Had sunk amongst the dead !" 



JUNE 5.— MORNING. 
" Be thou their arm every morning." Isa. xxxiii. 2. 

This is a prayer for others. And when we repair 
to the throne of the heavenly grace we should never 
forget our fellow-Christians. Yet those will never 
pray earnestly, or even sincerely, for others, who do 
not pray for themselves. Every believer, therefore, 
includes himself in the number of those for whom he 



June 5. — Morning. 421 

implores the blessing — "Be thou their arm every 
morning." 

He is made sensible of his own weakness and in- 
sufficiency. He knows, he feels, and he increasingly 
knows and feels his need — of an arm — a Divine arm 
— every morning. 

— For what purpose ? 

He needs this arm to defend him in all his dangers, 
and to keep him from all evil, especially the evil of 
sin, that it may not grieve him. 

He needs this arm to uphold him under his burdens. 
The pressure often urges him to exclaim, " Lord, I am 
oppressed, undertake for me." 

He needs this arm to lean on, in all his goings. 
What a journey lies before him I And what step can 
he take alone? This is the image of the Church. 
She is represented as coming up out of the wilderness, 
leaning on her Beloved. 

And as this arm is necessary, so it is sufficient ; and 
it is kindly held out in the promises and invitations 
of the word — " There," says God, " let him take hold 
of my strength." And we take hold of it by faith 
and prayer. 

Let me then avail myself of the privilege — Be thou 
my arm every morning. Let me lean — and converse 
with thee. Let me lean, and feel thee at my side. 
Let me lean— and go forward without dismay or dis- 
couragement. "Because he is at my right hand, I 
shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and 
my glory rejoiceth : my flesh also shall rest in hope. 
Eor thou wilt not suffer thine Holy one to see cor- 
ruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy 
presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are 
pleasures for evermore." 



422 June 5. — Evening. 



JUNE 5.— EVENING. 

" Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you 
this day." Dedt. xxxii. 46. 

"All these words" were the language which he had 
just ended, the histories which he had recapitulated, 
and the positive ordinances and moral injunctions 
which he had again laid before them. Now if Moses 
enjoined the Jews to attend cordially to a portion of 
Eevelation comparatively small, how much more does 
God require us to pay this regard to the whole ! See 
then that ye refuse not him that speaketh ; for if they 
escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, 
much more shall not we escape if we turn away from 
him that speaketh from heaven. He is now saying, 
" Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify 
among you this day. " 

Set your hearts to heae all these words. When 
you are forbidden to be hearers only, it supposes that 
you are hearers really ; and when you are admonished 
to take heed what you hear, and how you hear, the 
practice itself is enjoined in the very regulation of 
the mode. Hearing is not only a duty, but a privilege. 
And when we consider not only the adaptation there 
is in preaching to produce the effect, but the blessing 
of Grod that attends his own institution, we need not 
wonder that "faith cometh by hearing." 

Set your hearts to bead all these words. We can- 
not be hearing always ; and there are times when we 
cannot hear at all. In such cases, reading is a sub- 
stitute for hearing; and in all others, reading must 
accompany and follow hearing. We cannot dispense 
with it at the family altar, or in our private retire- 



June 5. — Evening. 423 

ment, without injury and sin. Hale could say, in 
one of his letters to his children, "If I omit reading a 
portion of the Scriptures in the morning, nothing goes 
well with me through the day." 

Set your hearts to understand all these words. 
"Let him that readeth understand" — Without this, 
the perusal will be little more than a mere mechanical 
exercise. We should endeavour to obtain clear and 
consistent views of the subject that comes under our 
notice; we should pause and reflect; we should con- 
sider the design of the writer in the paragraph ; observe 
the strain of his language ; compare one part of the 
contents with another; and pray for the Spirit that 
guides into all truth. 

Set your hearts to remember all these words. 
"By which," says the Apostle, "ye are saved, if ye 
keep in memory what I have written unto you." Our 
memory should be like the ark in which were kept 
the golden pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, 
and the tables of the law. Nothing can affect us 
morally when it is out of the mind. Some, to excuse 
their recollecting so little of what they read, and hear, 
complain of their memory. Yet they recollect other 
things without number — This shews the natural faculty 
is not wanting. " But we can remember some things 
so much easier than others." This adds to our censure. 
For what things are they which you do remember 
most easily ? Are they not those with which you are 
most familiar ? to which you are most attentive and 
attached ? and which are most suitable to your taste ? 
And should not this be the case with the things of 
Ood? Onn n woman forget her sucking child ? Can 
a maid lorget her ornaments, or a biide her attire? 

Set your hearts to the practice of all these words. 



424 June 5. — Evening. 

It cannot oe imagined that they are written only to 
amuse curiosity, or inform the mind, or furnish ma- 
terials for conversation and controversy — What are 
its warnings unless we are cautioned by them ? or its 
promises unless we embrace them ? In vain it shews 
unto us the way of salvation, unless we walk in it. It 
cannot profit us unless it be mixed with faith : and it 
works effectually in •them that believe. " If ye know 
these things, happy are ye if ye do them." " Blessed 
are they that hear the word of God and keep it." 

Set your hearts to kecommend and diffuse them. 
Begin at home. " Thou shalt teach them diligently 
unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou 
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the 
way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest 
up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine 
hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine 
eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of 
thy house, and on thy gates." Hold forth the word 
of life wisely in your discourse, accompanied with 
every holy and lovely temper. Furnish with a copy 
those who are destitute. Feel an anxiety that every 
human being may have a Bible. For this purpose 
encourage and aid that glorious institution whose 
godlike and only aim is to spread the Scriptures at 
home and abroad, till the earth is filled with the 
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the seas. 
Thus set your hearts unto all the words of this testi- 
mony. 

— It is the command of God ; and he who lives in 
the neglect of it is a rebel as much as a thief or a mur- 
derer. It is the command of the great (rod, who is 
able to enforce it. It is the command of the good 
God, who has conferred so many benefits, and has so 



June 6. — Morning. 425 

\nany claims upon you. It is the command of the 
only wise God, who knows what is needful for you, 
and only demands what is a reasonable service. 

— All these words too are Divine — All Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God. The very name of 
some authors would be enough to induce you to pur- 
chase and devour a publication. On the back of my 
Bible is inscribed, The Works of God. 

They are also all-important. They are not a vain 
thing, but our life. They are our standard. Our 
rule. Our medicine. Our shield. Our sword. Our 
bread. Our water. Our sun. The charter of our 
everlasting privilege — Who can tell what it has done 
for numberless individuals ? For communities ? For 
nations? — Who can tell what it will do in the ages to 
come? 



JUNE 6.— MORNING. 
"And walk humbly with thy God." Micah vi. 8. 

Why not joyfully ? There is a foundation laid for 
this. It is their privilege ; and it is said, they shall 
sing in the ways of the Lord. This is not, however, 
absolutely necessary. In a sense, Christians may go 
on without it. We have known much self-denial, 
and deadness to the world, and spirituality of devo- 
tion, and zeal for the glory of God and the welfare of 
others, in persons who may be said to be saved by 
hope rather than confidence. But with regard to hum- 
bleness of mind, this is indispensable — always, and in 
— every thing — and no progress can be made without 
it. So that when Luther was asked what was the 
first step in religion, he replied, Humility ; and when 



426 June 6.— Mokning. 

asked what was the second, and the third, answered 
in the same way. And Peter admonishes Christians 
to be clothed with humility ; as if he would say, 
This is to cover, to defend, to distinguish, to adorn 
all. But how is our walking humbly with God to 
appear? 

It is to appear in connexion with divine truth. 
Here God is our teacher; and if, as learners, we walk 
humbly with him, we shall cast down imaginations 
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
knowledge of Christ : we shall sacrifice the pride of 
reason ; and having ascertained that the Scriptures 
are the word of God, and discovered what they really 
contain,^e shall not speculate upon their principles, 
but admit them on the Divine authority. Nothing- 
can be more proud and vain than to believe no more 
than we can comprehend, or can make appear to be 
credible in itself. Is not this founding our faith on 
knowledge, and not on testimony ? Is not this trust- 
ing God like a discredited witness in court, whose 
deposition is regarded only as it is collaterally sup- 
ported? Is this honouring his wisdom, or veracity? 
Is this receiving with meekness the engrafted word ? 
Is this receiving the kingdom of heaven as a little 
child? 

It will appear in connexion with divine ordinances. 
Here we walk with God as worshippers ; and if we 
walk humbly with him, we shall have grace, whereby 
we may serve him acceptably, with reverence and with 
godly fear. We have, indeed, in Christ, boldness and 
access with confidence ; but it is by the faith of him ; 
that is, by the confidence of one who feels his encou- 
ragement derived from a mediator. We may come 
boldly to the throne of grace : but it is to obtain mercy \ 



June 6.— Morning. 427 

and find grace to help us : the boldness, therefore, can 
only be the boldness of the indigent and the guilty, 
who have nothing of their own to plead. We ap- 
proach him as a father : but if I am a father, says He, 
where is mine honour ? We have heard some address 
the Supreme Being with such levity and freedom as 
they would not have used to a fellow-creature a little 
above their own level in life. We should keep our 
feet when we go to the house of God. He is in heaven 
and we upon the earth, therefore our words should be 
few. 

It will appear in connexion with his mercies. Here 
we walk with God, as our benefactor : and if we walk 
humbly with him, we shall own and feel that we have 
no claim upon God for any thing we possess or enjoy. 
Am I indulged? I am not worthy of the least of all 
his mercies. Am I distinguished ? 

" Not more than others I deserve ; 
Yet God has given me more." 

Am I successful? I shall not ascribe it to my own 
skill, or to the power of my own arm. I shall not 
sacrifice to my own net, or burn incense to my own 
drag. The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and 
he addeth no sorrow with it. 

It will appear, with regard to our trials. Here we 
walk with God as our reprover and corrector : and if 
we walk humbly, we shall not charge him foolishly ; 
we shall not arraign his authority ; or ask, What doest 
thou ? We shall not expose ourselves to the reflection, 
Thou hast smitten them, and they have not grieved. 
We shall be in subjection to the Father of spirits, 
and live. We shall be dumb, and open not our mouth, 
because He does it. Or, if we speak, it will be to 



428 June 6. — Morning. 

acknowledge that his judgments are right, and that 
in faithfulness he has afflicted us. " I mourn ; but I 
do not murmur. I wonder not that my troubles are 
so heavy; but that they are so light. I more than 
deserve them all — and 1 need them all. I would not 
only bear, but kiss the rod. It is the Lord : let him do 
what seemeth him good." 

It will appear, with regard to our conditions. Here 
we walk with God as our disposer and governor : and 
if we walk humbly, we shall hold ourselves at his 
control ; we shall be willing that he should chose our 
inheritance for us ; we shall not lean to our own 
understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge him. 
We shall be satisfied with our own allotment; and 
learn, in whatsoever state we are, therewith to be con- 
tent. We shall abide in the callings wherein his 
providence has placed us, and not be eager to rise into 
superior offices, feeling our unfitness for them and 
fearful of their perils; saying, "Lord, my heart is 
not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty, neither do I exer- 
cise myself in great matters, or in things too high 
for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself 
as a child that is weaned of his mother : my soul is 
even as a weaned child." 

It will appear, with regard to our qualification and 
ability for our work. Here we walk with God as our 
helper and strength : and if we walk humbly, we shall 
be sensible of our insufficiency for all the purposes of 
the divine life. We shall feel that we know not what 
to pray for as we ought, unless the Spirit itself helpeth 
our infirmities; that the preparation of the heart, and 
the answer of the tongue, are from the Lord ; that, 
with regard to the exercise of every grace, and the 
performance of every duty, as the branch cannot bear 






June 6. — Morning. 429 

fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can 
we, except we abide in him, for without him we can 
do nothing. Did Peter walk humbly with him when, 
even after the warning he had received, he leaned on 
his own resolution, for superior constancy? Here 
humility is — to fear always ; and — to pray, Hold thou 
me up, and I shall be safe. 

It will appear, with regard to the whole of our re- 
covery. Here we walk with God, as a Saviour ; and 
if we walk humbly, we shall not go about to establish 
our own righteousness, but submit ourselves unto the 
righteousness which is of God ; and acknowledge that 
we have nothing to glory in before him. Not by 
works of righteousness which I had done, but accord- 
ing to his mercy he saved me. I look on the rock 
whence I was hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence 
I was digged. How long did he wait for me ! What 
pains were used in vain to bring my heart to him ! 
He was found of me, when I sought him not. And 
how little have I attained ! I am still an unprofitable 
servant. The sins of my holy things would condemn 
me — I must look only for the mercy of our Lord 
Jesus Christ unto eternal life. If I am called, he 
called me by his grace. If I have a good hope, it is 
a good hope through grace. By the grace of God I 
am what I am. 

Happy this humble walker with God! God re- 
sisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 

" All joy to the believer ! He can speak — 
Trembling, yet happy ; confident, yet meek. 
Since the dear hour that brought me to thy foot, 
And cut up all my follies by the root, 
I never trusted in an arm but thine, 
Nor hoped, but in thy righteousness divine. 



430 June 6.— Evening. 

My prayers and alms, imperfect and defiled, 
Were but the feeble efforts of a child ; 
Howe'er performed, it was their brightest part, 
That they proceeded from a grateful heart, 
Cleansed in thine own all-purifying blood, 
Forgive their evil, and accept their good ; 
I cast them at thy feet — my only plea 
Is, what it was, dependence upon thee — 
While struggling in the vale of tears below, 
That never fail'd nor shall it fail me now. 
, Angelic gratulations rend the skies ; 
Pride falls unpitied, never more to rise ; 
Humility is crown'd, and Faith receives the prize." 



JUNE 6.— EVENING. 

"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him 
until the breaking of the day." Gen. xxxii. 24; 

Jacob was now returning with, a large family and 
much abundance from Haran, and the house of his 
infamous uncle Laban. Thither he had fled from the 
face of his brother Esau, till his fury should be abated. 
But his resentment seems not to have yielded to time ; 
for Jacob is informed of his approach, and four hun- 
dred men with him, and no doubt with murderous 
design. Here was an embarrassment ! But God had 
said to him, "Return;" and he had also said, "I will 
surely do thee good" — This was his encouragement. 
But what was his conduct? It equally expressed 
prudence and piety. He sends forward a present, with 
a soft answer, that turneth away wrath ; and then he 
has recourse to prayer. For except the Lord build 
the house, they labour in vain that build it ; except 
the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in 
vain. When we have arranged our plans, and secured 
our means, and done all that we can do in order to 






June 6. — Evening. 431 

secure success, we must cast our care upon him that 
careth for us, arid say, " O Lord, I beseech thee, send 
now prosperity." Jacob found prayer not only his 
duty but his privilege. How pitiable are those in 
trouble who cannot say, from experience, "It is good 
for me to draw near to God!" In the perplexities, 
dangers, distresses of life; in the loss of relations, the 
failure of friends, the insufficiency of creature-helpers ; 
— how relieving to the burdened spirit is it to say, 
" Therefore will I look unto the Lord ; I will wait for 
the Grod of my salvation, my Grod will hear me !" 

— Imagine Jacob's situation. He was left alone. 
His family had been sent forward. It was now past 
midnight. ISTo noise was heard. Perhaps no star 
was seen. He was kneeling on the ground in prayer, 
with his eyes closed, or raised towards heaven — when 
he felt the fingers of some one, seizing and grappling 
him — and he started up and closed with his antagonist 
— &nd endeavoured to maintain his standing against 
him — There wrestled a man with him until the break- 
ing of the day. Wrestling is a trying and close combat, 
in which we can only engage personally, hand to hand ; 
it allows not of seconds and helpers ; and the aim of 
each is to throw the other upon the ground. Jacob's 
opponent came as his friend; but how could Jacob 
think so at first, when, instead of being lulled to sleep, 
he was grasped and pulled to and fro with violence ! 
Though mercy alwaj^s brings him, the Lord's coming 
to his people is often alarming in appearance and ap- 
prehension. He works by unlikely means, and in a 
way the most strange. He impoverishes in order to 
enrich ; wounds us in order to heal ; by legal despair 
he brings us into the hope of the gospel ; and by death 
leads us to life eternal. Let us welcome him in what- 



432 June 6. — Evening. 

ever manner he may appear. Job could say, "He 
hath taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces" 
— But he could say, "Though he slay me, yet still 
will I trust in him." 

The affair was not a vision, but a real transaction. 
We may however make two inquiries. First ; who 
was this mysterious personage that strove with Jacob ? 
Hosea calls him "the angel ;" he is here called " a man" 
— yet the prophet says, Jacob "had power with God:" 
and Jacob himself says, "I have seen Grod face to 
face." What can we do here, but have recourse to 
"the angel of the covenant?" to him of whom Paul 
speaks, when he says, "being in the form of Grod, he 
thought it not robbery to be equal with Grod, but made 
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form 
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men :" 
to him of whom John says, "In the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 
was God ; and the Word was made flesh , and dwelt 
among us." " His goings forth were of old, from 
everlasting." "He rejoiced in the habitable parts of 
the earth, and his delights were with the sons of men." 
Thus he often assumed a human shape, as an emblem 
and earnest of his real incarnation in the fulness of 
time. Secondly ; what was the nature of this wrest- 
ling ? It was partly corporeal, as is undeniable from 
the injury he received in his thigh ; and partly spiritual, 
as an inspired expositor tells us that "he wept, and 
made supplication unto the angel." These are the 
severest trials in which God at once exercises both the 
body and the mind. Yet it is no unusual thing for 
sickness and straits in circumstances to blend with 
internal conflicts — " Without," says Paul, "are fight- 
ings, and within are fears:" and, savs David, "Heal 



June 6. — Evening. 433 

me : for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore 
vexed : but thou, Lord, how long?" 

It is from this exercise of Jacob's that prayer has 
been so frequently called wrestling with God. For- 
malists know nothing of the force of the image : but 
they know the meaning of it, who feel their guilt, and 
are pressed down by a sense of their un worthiness and 
imperfections ; who are in earnest as to their object ; 
and whose cry is nothing less than " Lord, save, I 
perish." 

— We cannot determine how long the contest had 
lasted ; but it seems to have been several hours. 
During all this time, though Jacob stood his ground, 
he got no advantage until the breaking of the day — 
Then the scene changed and relief was obtained. The 
Lord often tries the patience of his people ; he delays 
their desires, and under the suspension, they some- 
times are ready to say, Why should I wait for him 
any longer ? Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, 
but when it cometh it is a tree of life ; and come it will 
in God's own time, and will not tarry a moment be- 
yond it. " Weeping may endure for a night ; but joy 
cometh in the morning." What applies to any parti- 
cular dispensation will apply to life itself — What is it 
but wrestling until the breaking of the day ? But the 
night is far spent, and the day is at hand. 

19 



434 June 7. — Morning. 



JUNE V.— MORNING. 



" And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched 
the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of 
joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day 
breaketh." Gen. xxxii. 25, 26. 

It is wonderful that Jacob was able to maintain the 
contest as he did. Never was there such an unequal 
match. The wrestling was between a poor worm and 
the Lord of all. What would have been the conse- 
quence if things had taken their natural course but 
Jacob's overthrow ? How then did he stand ? Not 
from his own sufficiency, but from the condescension 
and kindness of his opponent, who, instead of striving 
against him with his great power, put strength in him, 
and sustained him in the encounter. 

Yet the Lord would remind him of his weakness. 
He therefore touched and disjointed the hollow of his 
thigh. This was to intimate that if he should gain 
the victory, he was not, as he otherwise might have 
done, to ascribe it to himself. Good men in their 
attainments and successes are in danger of self-elation. 
It is necessary to keep them from their purpose, and 
to hide pride from them. Paul after his revelations 
had a thorn in the flesh, lest he should be exalted 
above measure. All our honours and comforts must 
have some alloy. In sailing, the ballast is as necessary 
as the sails, and the one must be in proportion to the 
other. 

But does not Jacob yield now ? No, he keeps on 
wrestling, though — in' pain, and even — lamed, and 
therefore — obliged to grasp the closer and firmer to 
keep him from falling. So we are to cleave to the 



June 7. — Morning. 435 

Lord with purpose of heart, and to pray and not faint. 
Whatever discouragement we meet with, we are not 
in our wrestling to give up ; and when we cannot 
pray as we would, we must pray as we can, and not 
discontinue the exercise because of infirmity and im- 
perfections. 

11 Let me go," says the angel. Yet could not he, 
who by a touch only had disjointed Jacob's thigh, 
have easily disengaged himself from his hold ? And 
does he ask for permission to withdraw ? He gives 
intimation of his departure, to excite the more earnest 
supplication for his continuance. When he was with 
the two disciples at Emmaus he made as though he 
would have gone further ; he designed to enter with 
them — but not without pressing; and they con- 
strained him, saying, Abide with us — and he went in 
to tarry with them. So much do they love him, and 
so necessary is he to his people, that a hint of his 
going is enough to throw them into alarm, and induce 
them to cry, " Cast me not away from thy presence, 
and take not thy holy Spirit from me." But the 
motion is designed to shew the power of prayer. 
"The king is held in the galleries." "I held him, 
and would not let him go." "The violent take it by 
force." The might of earth and hell cannot restrain 
God, but prayer can. Two blind men begging by 
the way-side, hearing that he was passing by, cried, 
" Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on us." The 
multitude deemed thera offensive interrupters, and 
ordered them to hold their peace. But Jesus stood 
still, and commanded them to be brought — The sun 
in nature once stood still, to enable Joshua to finish 
his victory ; and now a much nobler Being cannot 
take another step till he has paused, and heard, and 



436 Juke 7. — Morning. 

relieved the tale of distress. When God, provoked 
by the idolatry of the Jews at Horeb, threatened to 
destroy them, Moses interposed, and held back his 
arm ; and Omnipotence itself said, " Now therefore 
let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against 
them, and that I may consume, them : and I will 
make of thee a great nation." Who would not value 
prayer ! What an efficiency does it exert ! With 
God all things are possible — and prayer has power 
with God ! 

But the reason seems as strange as the request — 
Let me go, " for the day breaketh." What are the 
distinctions of time to him ? Is it not the same to 
the Lord whether he is with his people by night or 
by day ? " Darkness and light are both alike to him." 
First, the reason may respect the angel's unwilling- 
ness that any should be spectators of the scene. And 
so it tells us to avoid religious notice ; and not, like 
the Pharisees, pray to be seen of men — " The kingdom 
of God cometh not with observation." When we 
enter our closet we are not to leave the door open. 
But, secondly, the reason rather refers to Jacob and 
his circumstances — " The morning comes, and we 
must separate for thy sake — Thou must pursue thy 
journey — thy cattle, servants, and family will require 
thy presence and aid." Beligion is not to call us off 
from our relative duties, or even secular business. 
Every thing is beautiful in its season. We must 
sometimes exercise even spiritual self-denial. The 
privileges of the Sabbath must give place to the trials 
of the week. It would be more pleasing to continue 
an hour longer in retirement, reading the Scripture, 
with meditation and prayer ; but the calls of the 
household and the claims of our callings bid us break 



June 7. — Evening. 437 

off — And we " must stand perfect and complete in 
all the will of God." 



JUNE 1.— EVENING. 

"And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And 
he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob." 

Gen. xxxii. 26, 27. 

Jacob now, if not before, began to know who his 
antagonist was. He is therefore unwilling to separate 
without a blessing. He looks for a blessing from one 
that had opposed him, struggled with, him, and dis- 
jointed his thigh. So must we " turn to him that 
smiteth" us, and from the very hand that wounds 
seek all our relief and deliverance. " Come," says the 
Church, u and let us return unto the Lord: for he 
hath torn, and he will heal us ; he hath smitten, and 
he will bind us up." The blessing of the Lord maketh 
rich. It can do all things for us. Creatures can only 
wish us a blessing, but he commands and imparts it : 
and when he blesses none can reverse it. 

Jacob uses no ceremony, but in reply to the de- 
mand, "Let me go," abruptly says, "I will not — • 
except thou bless me." Was this a fit answer for a 
servant to his Lord and Master ? When we have a 
promise which gives us a hold of him, we are to put 
him in remembrance, to plead with him, and to refuse 
to take any denial. There is nothing more pleasing. 
to him than this holy violence: he loves to see us, 
while trusting in his faithful word, disregarding the 
discouragements of his providence. The woman of 
Canaan was sorely tried, first by his silence, then by 
his seeming exclusion, and then by his seeming con- 
tempt of her — but she persevered in her application, 



438 June 7. — Evening. 

and was more than successful. "0 woman, great is 
thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And 
when God had threatened not to go with the people, 
was he offended with Moses, who said, I will not stir 
a step further without thy presence ? No ; but he 
yielded, and said, "My presence shall go with thee, 
and I will give thee rest." 

Prayer is nothing without earnestness and resolu- 
tion. We ask and have not, because we ask amiss ; we 
pour forth words, but the heart is not engaged. How 
can we expect that Grod should regard supplications 
with which we are unaffected ourselves? "If," says 
Bishop Hopkins, " the arrow of prayer is to enter 
heaven, we must draw it from a soul full bent." This 
is what Paul means by "praying with all prayer." 
He, the very same Being who here taught Jacob im- 
portunity in prayer, teaches us also at this moment 
the value and necessity of it — " Which of you shall 
have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and 
say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves ; for a 
friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I 
have nothing to set before him? And he from within 
shall answer and say, Trouble me not : the door is 
now shut, and my children are with me in bed : I 
cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though 
he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, 
yet because of his importunity he will rise and give 
him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, 
Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall 
find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." "And 
he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men 
ought always to pray, and not to faint ; saying, There 
was in a city a judge, which feared not Grod, neither 
regarded man ; and there was a widow in that city ; 



June 7. — Evening. 439 

and she eame "unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine 
adversary. And he would not for a while : but after- 
ward he said within himself, Though I fear not Grod, 
nor regard man ; yet because this widow troubleth 
me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming 
she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the 
unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his 
own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though 
he bear long with them ?" — " Never man spake like 
this man." 

Jacob specifies nothing in particular, but only in- 
sists upon a blessing. His present condition however 
would serve to explain his immediate wish. And, 
therefore, with a view to this, the Lord said unto him, 
" What is thy name?" He could not ask to gain in- 
formation ; but upon the same principle that we are 
required to confess our sins, and to spread our wants 
before him in prayer ; and which is not to inform a 
Being who is perfectly wise, but that we may be 
affected with our condition, and be prepared for the 
display of his mercy. It is we who are changed by 
prayer, not he: the land is not drawn to the boat, 
but the boat to the land — the result of the contact is 
the same. The Lord well knew Jacob's name, but he 
would know it from himself; and therefore he said 
"Jacob" — "The same to whom thou saidst at Beth-el, 
when fleeing from the face of my brother, I will keep 
thee in all places whither thou goest: the same to 
whom thou saidst, when leaving my uncle Laban, 
Beturn to thy kindred, and I will surety do thee 
good." 

We have the same advantage in the question when 
we go to his mercy's door, and he asks who we are. 
"Lord, thou canst not be ignorant of me. I am that 



440 June 7. — Evening. 

swearer, that Sabbath-breaker, that despiser of all 
that was good, whose feet thy goodness turned into 
the path of peace, and whose lips it taught to shew 
forth thy praise. I am that backslider thy mercy re- 
claimed. I am that sufferer who called upon thee in 
the day of trouble, and was delivered — I have tried 
thee too much; thou hast befriended me too often, 
not to be acquainted with me" — 

" Dost thou ask me who I am ? 
Ah, my Lord, thou know'st my name ! 
Yet the question gives a plea, 
And supports my suit with Thee. 

Thou didst once a wretch behold, 
In rebellion blindly bold, 
Scorn thy grace, thy power defy ; 
That poor rebel, Lord, was I. 

" Once a sinner, near despair, 
Sought thy mercy-seat by prayer ; 
Mercy heard and set him free ; 
Lord, that mercy came to me. 

" Many years have passed since then, 
Many changes I have seen, 
Yet have been upheld till now ; 
Who could hold me up but Thou ? 

u Thou hast helped in every need, 
This emboldens me to plead : 
After so much mercy past, 
Canst thou let me sink at last ?" 



June 8. — Mokning. 441 



JUNE 8.— MORNING. 

"And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: 
for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast 
prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy 
name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my 
name ? And he blessed him there." Gen. xxxii. 28, 29. 

Thus he was knighted on the field. He had two 
names ; and both of them were gained by wrestling : 
the one, by wrestling with his brother in the womb ; 
the other, by wrestling with the angel at Peniel. Jacob 
signifies a supplanter ; Israel means a prince with God 
— And the reason of the new name was, that he had 
"power with God and with men, and had prevailed." 
That is, he had prevailed with God, and this was an 
assurance that he would prevail with man — his bro- 
ther Esau, and every other foe. These go together. 
If God refuses to hear us, creatures will help in vain ; 
and if God be for us, who can be against us ? " When 
a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his 
enemies to be at peace with him." How much is it our 
interest to secure his favour who has all events at his 
disposal, and every heart under his control! Yet 
some, to engage the friendship of mortals, will offend 
and provoke him who can turn the wisdom of the 
wisest into foolishness, and the strength of the strongest 
into weakness. 

We can hardly wonder that Jacob asked and said, 
" Tell me, I pray thee, thy name." Yet it appears to 
have been more curious than wise. There is much of 
this tendency in us all ; and it is a proof of our depra- 
vity, that we are equally disposed to neglect what is 
plain and useful, and to pry into things which we 
19* 



442 June 8. — Mokning. 

have not seen, and which, if discovered, could be 
of little avail to us. This is a world of action rather 
than of science. The humblest Christian will know 
more in a moment after death than the most laborious 
research can acquire now in months and years. The 
Scripture therefore never indulges a vain curiosity 
that would draw us off from the one thing needful. 
Instead of gratifying Peter when he inquired after 
the destiny of John, our Saviour rebuked him : 
"What is that to thee; follow thou me." And when 
the Apostles would become students of prophecy; 
and asked, " Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again 
the kingdom to Israel?" he said unto them, "It is 
not for you to know the times or the seasons, which 
the Father hath put in his own power." He there- 
fore here said unto Jacob, " Wherefore is it that thou 
dost ask after my name? And he blessed him 
there." 

This furnishes us with an opportunity to remark two 
things. The first regards our infirmities in prayer. 
We often know not what we ask. The second, God's 
method in answering us. He grants us while he 
denies. If he refuses us, he gives us something better 
in exchange, something better in itself, and better also 
for us. It is better to prepare us for his coming at 
any time, or in any way, than to inform us of it. It 
is better to make us meet for the inheritance of the 
saints in light, than to make us acquainted with the 
nature of it. With regard to the thorn in the flesh, 
the Apostle was more than satisfied with the manner 
in which his prayer for the removal of it was answered, 
when, though it continued, he had the assurance of 
all-sufficient grace under it, and that the Saviour's 
strength should be made perfect in his weakness — 



June 8. — Evening. 443 

" Most gladly therefore," says he, " will I glory in my 
infirmity, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 
He withholds abundance, but he teaches and enables 
us to be content with such things as we have. Let us 
leave ourselves to his wisdom and goodness ; a wisdom 
that is infinite, a goodness that spared not his own 
Son. He would not tell Jacob his name — but he 
blessed him there. 

JUNE 8.— EVENING. 

"And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel : for I have seen 
God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over 
Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. There- 
fore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is 
upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day ; because he touched 
the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank." 

Gen. xxxii. 30 — 32. 

Hebe we have some of the immediate consequences 
of this singular event. It is obvious that Jacob appre- 
hended the personage to be Divine. Hence he won- 
ders at his preservation. Human nature is weak, and 
can only bear a degree of impression. Flesh and 
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God: and "no 
man," said God himself to Moses, " can see my face 
and live." Jacob therefore could not have seen him 
face to face, unless in the human form which he had 
assumed. Thus in the Gospel God is manifest in the 
flesh. And thus through the veil, that is to say his 
flesh, we are not only saved, but shall have communion 
with him for ever. Jacob's humility also filled him 
with surprise, that he should have been not only so 
supported, but so signalized and dignified above all 
mankind. When we are in a proper frame of mind, 
divine favours abase as well as encourage. 



444 June 8. — Evening. 

That the event might not be forgotten, he calls the 
place by a new name, significant of the manifestation. 
For the same reason, after a deliverance, Samuel set 
up a stone, and called it Ebenezer. And Joseph and 
Moses gave their children names that would serve to 
recall their trials and their mercies. Nothing can 
affect us any longer than it is in our thoughts ; we 
should therefore be careful that we forget not all his 
benefits. Our gratitude and our confidence depend on 
remembrance. 

Jacob knew that the best way to glorify God is to 
serve him in the condition and circumstances wherein 
he has placed us. He therefore is not idle ; but as 
soon as the Divine visitant had left him, he went for- 
ward, hastened to join his household, and to perform 
the duties of the husband, the father, the master, and 
to prepare for the expected interview. But as he 
passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he 
halted upon his thigh. He could not have travelled 
at all unless he who had lamed him had re-jointed 
him. Yet, if not some pain, some weakness was ]eft; 
and he limped for life. There was doubtless a con- 
traction of the muscle or tendon, for it is said, " there- 
fore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew that 
shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto 
this day; because he touched the hollow of Jacob's 
thigh in the sinew that shrank? "Was this refusal 
founded in a superstitious conceit? It was rather the 
consequence of a divine appointment, analogous to a 
ceremonial and sensible dispensation of religion ; or 
the disuse resulted from the veneration his posterity 
entertained for the patriarch, and their concern to 
memorialize this astonishing occurrence. It would 
be saying, Our father trusteth in thee, and thou didst 



June 9. — Morning. 445 

deliver him — Say not to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye 
me, in vain. 

But what a night was here ! What a morning was 
here! With what confidence and peace would he 
now go forward, assured of a safe and pleasant meet- 
ing with his brother, and that goodness and mercy 
would follow him all the days of his life ! And oh ! 
what a relation would he have to communicate to his 
company as soon as he had overtaken them ! They 
would wonder to see him halting as he approached ; 
but they would marvel far more when he had told 
them of all that had happened unto him — of his 
wrestling ! and of his success ! 

And how much shall we have to announce to our 
company who have crossed the river before us, and 
are waiting to receive us into everlasting habitations, 
when we have reached them, not in a yet unfinished 
and trying journey, but at home in the rest that re- 
mains for the people of God ! 

" There, on a green and flowery mount, 
Our weary souls shall sit ; 
And with transporting joys recount 
The labours of our feet." 



JUNE 9.— MORNING. 
" The Lord is our Judge." Isa. xxxiii. 22. 

In ancient times, the character of a judge was 
united with that of a sovereign. To deliver the award 
of acquittal, condemnation, or pardon, was the ex- 
clusive prerogative of majesty. Even in our days, the 
sentence pronounced by the appointed expositors of 



446 June 9. — Morning. 

the law must have the fiat of the monarch before it 
can be fulfilled. 

The word Judge is frequently in the Scripture 
synonymous with Euler. But here, the Lord, as " our 
Judge," is distinguished from the Lord, as "our Law- 
giver" and "our King:" the term should therefore be 
taken in its more peculiar meaning, as to decisions and 
directions. 

And this view of God should blend with every 
other character he sustains : not to depress hope, but 
to prevent presumption ; not to hinder our access to 
God, but to sanctify us when we come nigh him ; not 
to inspire gloom, but to exclude from us all- that care- 
lessness and levity so inconsistent with our dependence 
and responsibility. "If ye call on the Father, who, 
without respect of persons, judgeth according to every 
man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in 
fear." 

He is our future Judge. So then, says the Scrip- 
ture, every one of us must give account of himself to 
God: God will bring every work into judgment, with 
every secret thing. And who could bear the thought 
of this process, without the knowledge of a Mediator ! 
The only way to find safety in that day, is to look for 
the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life ; 
and to be found in him. He is our advocate with the 
Father ; and he is the propitiation for our sins. The 
charges brought against us are all true ; and we have 
nothing to offer even in our own extenuation. But 
we appeal to our Surety; and he answers for us. 
"Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died : 
yea, rather, that is risen again : who is even at the 
right hand of God; who also maketh intercession 
for us. 



June 9. — Mokning. 447 

He is our Judge at present. And the Apostle 
speaks of it as a privilege of the Gospel dispensation, 
that "we are come to God, the Judge of all." 

Are you perplexed about the path of duty, and yet 
you must move forward, while importance is attached 
to every step ? Kefer yourselves to his unerring 
counsel. Be influenced and encouraged by the com- 
mand and the promise — " Trust in the Lord with all 
thine heart ; and lean not unto thine own understand- 
ing. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall 
direct thy paths." 

Is your spiritual state doubtful to your own minds ? 
And do you dread delusion ? Present the case before 
him: and say — "Search me, O God, and know my 
heart ; try me, and know my thoughts : and see if 
there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the 
way everlasting." • 

Do you lie under the misapprehension of friends, 
and the reproaches of enemies? Say, with Job, 
"Behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is 
on high." How often did David turn from the ground- 
less and cruel censures of men, to Him who knoweth 
all things! "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor 
mine eyes lofty ; neither do I exercise myself in great 
matters, or in things too high for me. Surely, I have 
behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned 
of his mother; my soul is even as a weaned child." 
" Let my sentence come forth from thy presence : let 
thine eyes behold the things that are equal." Are you 
reviled ? Eevile not again. Do you suffer ? Threaten 
not — but commit yourselves to Him that judgeth 
righteously. It is pleasing to have the approbation 
of our fellow-creatures: but there is — a higher — a 
juster — a more merciful tribunal. It js a light thing 



448 June 9. — Evening. 

to be judged of man's judgment. He that judgeth us 
is the Lord. "Therefore judge nothing before the 
time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light 
the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest 
the counsels of the hearts ; and then shall every man 
have praise of God." 

JUNE 9.— EVENING. 

"The grace that is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. ii. 1. 

Gkace is connected with the whole of our recovery 
as sinners. It is all in all in every part of our salva- 
tion. Whether he is chosen, or redeemed, or justified, 
or converted, or sanctified, or preserved, or comforted 
— the believer will acknowledge, by the grace of God 
I am what I am — not I, but the grace of God which 
is with me. 

But where is this grace to be found ? The Apostle 
tells us, when he speaks of it, as the resource of Timo- 
thy, both as a minister and a Christian — Thou, there- 
fore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ 
Jesus. As mediator, he is the principle, and the 
treasury of it, with regard to us. 

It is in him exclusively. And we may as well think 
of finding snow on the bosom of the sun, or water to 
cool the tongue in hell, as to think of finding elsewhere 
than in him, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and 
redemption. As Pharaoh said to the famishing mul- 
titudes that cried to him for corn, " Go unto Joseph, 
he has all the corn ;" so perishing sinners are sent to 
be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly 
places — in Christ. If there was only one well in the 
vicinity of a place, this would soon become the scene 
of concourse, and thithers all the inhabitants would 



June 9. — Evening. 449 

repair — And to him shall the gathering of the people 
be. If any man thirst, said he, let him come unto me 
and drink. Neither is there salvation in any other; 
for there is none other Name given under heaven, 
among men, whereby they must be saved. And what 
Christian will refuse to join in the ascription, Of his 
fulness have all we received, and grace for grace? 

It is in him ail-sufficiently. For it is not in him 
as water in a vessel, which, though as large as the 
brazen sea, would, by constant drawing, be soon drawn 
dry ; but as water in a spring, which, though always 
flowing, is always as full as ever. It is not in him like 
light in a lamp, which, however luminous, consumes 
while it shines, and will soon go out in darkness : but, 
like light in the sun, which, after shining for so many 
ages, is undiminished, and is as able as ever to bless 
the earth with his beams. There never has been, and 
there never will be, never can be a deficiency in him : 
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for 
ever. 

It is in him relatively. He has it for the use and 
advantage of his people. Is he head over all things? 
It is to his body, the Church. Has he power given 
him over all flesh ? It is that he might give eternal 
life to as many as the Father hath given him. Is he 
exalted at the right hand of God? It. is to be a 
Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, 
and forgiveness of sins. Did he receive gifts? It 
was for men, and even for the rebellious also, that the 
Lord God might dwell among them. Many trustees 
are faithless to their office. The rich have wealth for 
the poor; but it is either hoarded by avarice, or 
squandered by extravagance ; so that the poor often 
share but little of it, and the design of the proprietor 



450 June 9. — Evening. 

is subverted by the baseness of the steward. But 
here there is no danger. He to whom all our welfare 
is entrusted, will be faithful, not as a servant, like 
Moses ; but as a Son over his own house. His work 
falls in with every disposition of his heart. He so 
loves the recipients of his bounty, that he even died 
for them, and rose again. The power and authority 
to bless them was the joy set before him ; for which 
he endured the cross, and despised the shame. 

Arid it is wisely in him. Could we see no reason 
for it, we ought to believe in the propriety of the dis- 
pensation. God does all things well; and we may 
always infer the rectitude of any instance of his conduct 
even from his adopting it. And when he has told us 
that a particular course of action " became him," it is 
absurd to speculate, and profane to object. But it 
is easy to apprehend the wisdom of God in his being 
pleased that in him should all fulness dwell. It is 
thus infinitely secure. Adam had all in his own hand, 
and soon failed, and ruined his whole race. And 
should we act better than he? But "this man abideth 
ever:" and therefore the covenant, of which he is the 
head, is everlasting, ordered in all things and sure. 
By this appointment also, there is rendered necessary 
a communion between Christ and Christians, equally 
honourable to him, and beneficial to them. Let me 
explain this by a simple reference. An infant when 
born, if left to himself, would perish ; for he is entirely 
unequal to his own support. But he is not abandoned. 
Provision is made for his nourishment — Where ? In 
another. In whom ? The one — above all others in- 
terested in him — and whose relation to him — whose 
anxiety on his behalf — whose love — will always yield 
him a welcome access to her bosom : and the mutual 



June 10. — Morning. 451 

action of giving and receiving will endear the babe to 
the mother, and the mother to the babe. It is well 
we cannot live independent of Christ Jesus. How 
much are his glory and our welfare connected with the 
blessed necessity of our daily and hourly intercourse 
with him ! 



JUNE 10.— MORNING-. 

"And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb, was carried, 
whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called 
Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple." 

Acts iii. 2. 

What an object of distress was here ! Some, if 
they are poor, are strong and healthful ; and limbs and 
labour are sufficient for them. And some, if they are 
sickly and infirm, have wealth ; or relations and friends 
that can afford them support. But here penury and 
helplessness are combined. The sufferings of some 
are accidental, and endured for a season only ; but 
this man's affliction entered the world with him, and 
upwards of forty years he had endured the calamity. 

What a vale of tears is this earth! To what a 
variety of evils are the human race exposed ! Oh ! 
could we see all ! — could we see a little of the millionth 
part! What is a burial-ground?, a field of battle? a 
hospital ? every dismembered, disordered body ? but 
a commentary upon sin as the text ! For sin 
" Brought death into the world, and all our woe." 

Can we see such a case as this, and not be thankful 
for our exemption and preservation ? Shall we say, 
He deserved to be such a cripple; but I did not? 
Rather, shall we not say, By the grace of God, I am, 
what I am ? 



452 June 10. — Morning. 

Such an instance of misery is presented to try our 
disposition. The eye affecteth the heart ; and was 
designed to do it. None but a Priest or Levite will 
pass by on the other side. Such sights will attract 
the notice of the humane and the merciful, and move 
all his bowels of compassion, and put in requisition 
all his powers of relief. Job, even with regard to his 
prosperity, which too often makes men insensible and 
careless, could make this appeal : " When the ear 
heard me, then it blessed me : and when the eye saw 
me, it gave witness to me ; because I delivered the 
poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had 
none to help him. The blessing of him that was 
ready to perish came upon me : and I caused the 
widow's heart to sing for joy." "I was eyes to the 
blind, and feet was I to the lame." 

As the only expedient of this poor wretch was 
begging ; so, to give him an advantage, they placed 
him daily at the Beautiful gate of the temple, to ask 
alms of them that went in. This was wise. Surely 
he who is going to seek mercy, will be ready to shew 
it. Surely he who is going to pray for pardon, will 
not be unforgiving and implacable. "Therefore, if 
thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest 
that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there 
thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be 
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy 
gift." What communion hath light with darkness? 
What fellowship can the cruel and uncharitable have 
with him who is love itself? 

Piety without benevolence is hypocrisy. "If a 
man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a 
liar : for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath 
seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? 



June 10. — Evening. 453 

And this commandment have we from him, That he 
who loveth God love his brother also." The tongue 
of men and angels, without charity, is as sounding 
brass, or a tinkling cymbal. The gift of prophecy, 
the understanding of all mysteries, and all faith so 
that we could remove mountains, would be nothing 
without charity. How such a man, whatever be his 
profession, can be a partaker of divine grace, perplexed 
even an inspired Apostle. " Whoso hath this world's 
good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth 
up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth 
the love of God in him?" 

How well he adds — " My little children, let us not 
love in word, neither in tongue ; but in deed and in 
truth!" 

"And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and 
shall assure our hearts before him." 



JUNE 10.— EVENING. 
" He delighteth in mercy." Micah vii. 18. 

Causes are best discovered in their effects. "We 
determine the nature of the spring by the quality of 
the streams. The tree is known by the fruits. We 
judge of men's principles and dispositions, by their 
pursuits and conduct. God himself, so to speak, sub- 
mits to be examined in the same way. To ascertain 
what he is, we have but to consider what he does. 
The things the Scripture testifies concerning him, are 
confirmed and exemplified by the facts to which it 
refers us. Thus says the Church — "As we have heard, 
so have we seen in the city of our God." Is he called, 
" The God of all grace" ? " The Father of mercies" ? 



454 June 10. — Evening. 

Is it said, " He is rich in mercy"? " He delighteth in 
mercy" ? Let us pause and reflect ; and we shall find 
the proofs and illustrations more wonderful than the 
assertion itself. 

We are saved by hope ; hope is the first step in the 
return of a sinner to God; and what hath God 
wrought, to gain the confidence of our guilty, and 
therefore foreboding and misgiving minds ! Here let 
us follow the example of the inspired John — What is 
it that arrests and enraptures his attention? "Herein 
is love." Where? In what? " Herein is love — not 
that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his 
Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Not that he 
would overlook the other doings of God; but here 
he saw most clearly that " God is love." God's soul 
delights in his own Son ; yet he would seem to de- 
light more in mercy : for when he met with him and 
us on Calvary, he said, Thou shalt die, and they shall 
live. It therefore pleased the Lord to bruise him; 
that by his stripes we might be healed ; and, through 
his sweetsmelling sacrifice, become dearer to God than 
if we had never sinned. And we must here take in, 
not only the expensiveness of the act, but the charac- 
ter of the objects. It is the reasoning of another 
Apostle : " Scarcely for a righteous man will one die: 
yet peradventure for a good man some would even 
dare to die. But God commendeth his love towards 
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
us." And having made the provision, so that all 
things are now ready : would he endeavour to awaken 
our attention to it — would he send forth the ministry 
of reconciliation to beseech us to accept it — unless he 
delighted in mercy ? 

He delights, also, not only in the exercise of mercy 






June 10. — Evening. 455 

to us, but by us. He, therefore, would not leave mercy 
to the operation of reason and religion only ; but, as 
our Maker, he has rendered it a law of our being. 
By our very constitution, pity is an unavoidable emo- 
tion. When we see the pain and distress of a fellow- 
creature, the eye affecteth the heart. We involunta- 
rily feel an uneasiness, which prompts us to succour 
him, even to relieve ourselves. As far, indeed, as 
this is implanted in us, it is a mere instinct. But 
who produced it there ? Who made it natural ? Who 
rendered it so difficult to be subdued and destroyed, 
but a Being who delighteth in mercy? Besides; 
though it be originally an instinct only, by cherish- 
ing it, we render it a virtue; and, by exciting and 
exercising it from religious motives, we turn it into 
a Christian grace. 

And see what stress he has laid upon it in his word. 
How often does he enjoin it ! How dreadfully has he 
threatened the neglect of it ! And what promises has 
he made to the practice of it ! "He shall have judg- 
ment without mercy, that shewed no mercy." " But 
blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." 
He has told us, that no clearness of knowledge, no 
rectitude of opinion, no fervour of zeal, no constancy 
of attendance on ordinances, no talking of divine 
things, will be a compensation for charity. "Whoso 
hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have 
need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from 
him, how dwelleth the love of God in him ?" And 
hence the pre-eminence our Saviour gives it in the 
proceedings of the last day. " Then shall the King 
say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of 
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from 
the foundation of the world : for I was ah hungred, and 



456 June 10. — Evening. 

ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me 
drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, 
and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I 
was in prison, and ye came unto me." The language 
has been perverted ; for men dream of merit, where, 
above all things, we need mercy. This word "for" 
is here not causative, but evidential — -just as we may 
say, the spring is come, for the birds sing ; the sing- 
ing of the birds does not cause the coming of the 
spring, but is the effect and proof of it. But even 
this distinction affords the merciless no favour : for 
though the practice here so noticed be not the procur- 
ing of the blessedness, it is the character of the bless- 
ed. On every ground, therefore, the man who is a 
stranger to it, is not entitled to hope. For which rea-~ 
son, too, our Lord goes on to the subjects of condem- 
nation. And who are these? Tyrants? robbers? 
murderers of fathers and mothers? perjured persons? 
No — but the slothful and the selfish — the unkind 
tongue — the close hand — the unfeeling heart — the un- 
pitying eye — the foot that knew not the door of 
misery. " Then shall he say also unto them on the 
left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels: for I 
was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was a stranger, 
and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed me 
not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not." 

Let us, therefore, not only admire, but let us be 
followers of Him who delighteth in mercy. We 
cannot love him, unless we are concerned to please 
him ; and we cannot please him, unless we are like- 
minded with him. Neither can we enjoy him. Be- 
semblance is the foundation of our communion with 



June 11. — Morning. 457 

him. He only that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, 
and God in him. "Be ye therefore merciful, 

EVEN AS TOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN IS MER- 



JUNE 11.— MORNING. 

" It came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, 
so that he could not see, he called Esau, his eldest son, and said unto 
him, My son : and he said unto him Behold, here am I. And he 
said, Behold, now I am old, I know not the day of my death : now 
therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, 
and go out to the field, and take me some venison ; and make me 
savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat : 
that my soul may bless thee before I die." Gex. xxvii. 1 — 4. 

In Isaac's blindness we see one of the frequent ac- 
companiments of age. Age is generally an aggregate 
of privations, diseases, and infirmities. If, by reason 
of strength, we reach fourscore years, the strength 
then becomes labour and sorrow : labour in the pre- 
serving, and sorrow in the possession. 

" Our vitals with laborious strife, 
Bear up the crazy load ; 
And drag the dull remains of life 
Along the tiresome road." 

A powerful reason why we should remember our 
Creator in the days of our youth, that we may have 
a resource, when the evil days come, in which we 
shall say, I have no pleasure. What a privilege, 
when exercised with loss of sight, and of hearing ; 
with trembling of limbs, and sleepless nights ; and 
fearful apprehensions, and failure of desire ; to have 
God for the strength of our heart, and our portion for 
ever: and to hear him saying, "Even to your old 
20 



458 June 11. — Morning. 

age I am lie : and even to hoar hairs will I carry you : 
I have made, and I will bear ; even I will carry, and 
will deliver you !" 

— The reflection of Isaac upon his mortality may 
be adopted by every individual, whatever his condi- 
tion, or health, or age. All are ignorant of the time 
of their dissolution. For the human race dies at all 
periods, as well as in all circumstances : and we know 
not what a day may bring forth. But when Isaac 
says, "I know not the day of my death," he means 
that it was near ; and that every day might be 
reckoned as his last. Death is not far from every one 
of us. But while, as the proverb says, the young may 
die, the old must die. And it becomes the aged to 
think frequently and seriously of their departure as at 
hand. They should prepare for it ; and regard zeal- 
ously, the call of every present duty. It was the prayer 
of Moses, " So teach us to number our days, that we 
may apply our hearts unto wisdom." It was the pro- 
fession of our Lord and Saviour, " I must work the 
works of Him that sent me while it is day ; the night 
cometh wherein no man can work." It was the admo- 
nition of Solomon : " Whatsoever thy hand findeth 
to do, do it with thy might: for there is no work, nor 
device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave 
whither thou goest." 

Thus Isaac was roused into a concern to finish his 
work before he finished his course : " Now, therefore, 
take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy 
bow, and go out to the field, and take me some veni- 
son ; and make me savoury meat, such as I love, and 
bring it to me, that I may eat ; that my soul may bless 
thee before I die." Observe, he speaks of doing it 
while yet alive — not afterwards. In like manner, Eli- 



June 11. — Morning. 459 

jah, when waiting for his ascension into heaven, said 
to Elisha, "Ask now what I shall do for thee, before I 
be taken up from thee," believing his intercourse with 
him, and his acting for him, would then be terminated. 
This is a solemn, and should be a useful, thought. 
Look at your children, your relations, your friends, 
your neighbours, and see in what way you can serve 
your generation. Now you can bless them by your 
prayers, your counsels, your example, your liberality : 
but all these opportunities are confined to life ; and 
this life is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, 
and then vanisheth away ! Isaac did well in seizing 
the present moment to set his house in order before 
his death. But there are two things in which he was 
blamable. 

First. He shews too great a regard for the indul- 
gence of his appetite. It is mournful to see a good 
man, and especially an old man, instead of mortifying 
the deeds of the body, studying his sensual gratifica- 
tion, and making provision for the flesh, not to fulfil 
the wants but the lusts thereof. Carriages should be 
dragged as they are going down hill. 

Secondly. He was more influenced by natural 
affection than a regard to the will of God. He wished 
to make Esau heir ; but God had expressly declared, 
" the elder shall serve the younger." Isaac could not 
have been ignorant of this. Had he forgotten it ? Or 
did he disregard it ? Here we see his frailty. Yet 
this does not render the purpose of God of none effect. 
His counsel shall stand, and he shall do all his plea- 
sure. Kebekah, on the other hand was fond of Jacob 
— and a father has no chance against a mother, who 
has a favourite whom she is determined to advance ; 
especially such a selfish, crafty, cunning creature as 



460 June 11. — Evening. 

was at work here. Eebekah's aim, indeed, fell in 
with (rod's design ; bat this concurrence arose, not 
from her piety, but her partiality. Her conduct was 
unjustifiable and sinful : for we must not do evil that 
good may come. She had the divine promise on the 
side of her preference ; and she should have rested in 
the Lord and waited patiently for him ; and not have 
fretted herself in any wise to do evil. " He that be- 
lieveth maketh not haste." Had she quietly committed 
her way unto the Lord, he would have brought it to 
pass, without those wretched consequences that afflict- 
ed the family. For God uses instruments without 
approving of them : and though he makes the folly 
and passions of men to praise him, he fails not to 
prove that it is an evil and bitter thing to forsake him, 
and to act without his fear in our hearts. 

— How painful would it be to go on, and see a 
mother teaching her child to tell lies ; and to see a 
son imposing on the blindness of an aged father ! We 
have no notion that Kebekah was ever religious. 
And what proof have we that Jacob was pious at this 
time? — Was he not converted in his journey from 
Beersheba to Haran ? At Bethel God met with him r 
and there he spake with us. 



JUNE 11.— EVENING. 

"And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, 
then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, 
Thou shalt not live ; for thou speakest lies iu the name of the Lord : 
and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through 
when he prophesieth." Zech. xiii. 3. 

As in money transactions the sterling coin gives 
rise to the counterfeit, so in religious concerns, reality 



June 11. — Evening. 461 

is followed by hypocrisy. From the beginning there 
were in Israel true prophets. Hence also there were 
false ones, wearing the attire, and assuming the man- 
ners of God's own servants ; pretending to communi- 
cations which they had never received; exercising 
and encouraging idolatry; and crying, Peace, peace, 
when there was no peace. 

When therefore God intended mercy to the country, 
he engages to sweep away from the earth these emis- 
saries of the devil ; these plagues and curses of the 
human race. " In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, 
I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, 
and they shall no more be remembered : and I will 
cause the prophets, and the unclean spirits, to pass out 
of the land." And so affected would the people be, 
and even their relations and their nearest kindred, 
that rising above the feelings of nature, they would 
themselves execute the judgment threatened: "And 
it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, 
then his father and his mother that begat him shall 
say unto him, Thou shalt not live ; for thou speakest 
lies in the name of the Lord; and his father and his 
mother that begat him shall thrust him through when 
he prophesieth." 

This would be very trying to flesh and blood ; but 
we are to love God supremely, and creatures only in 
subordination to him. And this is no more than 
Moses required: "If thy brother, the son of thy 
mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of 
thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, 
entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other 
gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy 
fathers ; thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken 
unto him ; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither 



462 June 11. — Evening. 

shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him : but 
thou shalt surely kill him ; thine hand shall be first 
upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand 
of all the people." It is no more than Levi performed 
in the slaughter of the idolaters in the camp at Horeb : 
" He said unto his father and to his mother, I have not 
seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, 
nor know his own children." How unlike this was 
the conduct of Eli, who, when his sons made them- 
selves vile, restrained them not, but only gave them 
a gentle rebuke! And what can we think of those 
parents who connive at the delinquencies of their 
children; and, instead of opposing them with the 
authority and influence they possess, can rather cherish 
their inclinations, and accompany their steps? "He 
that loveth son or daughter more than me is not 
worthy of me." 

As the words from the immediately preceding and 
following context are allowed to refer to the evangeli- 
cal dispensation, some have derived an argument from 
them in favour of compulsion and persecution in reli- 
gion. But the Grospel sanctions nothing of this. When 
James and John would have called for fire from heaven 
to consume the Samaritans, the greatest schismatics of 
the age, and who had refused him a night's lodging, 
our Lord rebuked them, saying, " Ye know not what 
manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is 
not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." 
Some therefore have solved the difficulty by applying 
the prophecy exclusively to the conversion of the 
Jews; supposing that when they become Christians 
they will at first act according to their former usages, 
just as at the beginning of the Gospel they for a while 
strove to bring in Avith Christ, circumcision, and the 



June 11. — Evening. 463 

observance of meats and seasons. But the conjecture 
is improbable ; and the confinement of the words to 
this people is groundless. 

The meaning is — that effects are here put for prin- 
ciples — Christians should not indeed act in the same 
manner, but have the same zeal the pious Jews had 
when of old they shewed themselves on the Lord's 
side, and obeyed his commands, however expensive 
or painful the service — they should display the most 
determined firmness and fidelity in opposing error, 
and in spreading divine truth — holding nothing dear 
but the glory of (rod their Saviour — and forsaking all 
they have to be his disciples. It is therefore another 
of the many instances in the Old Testament, in which 
things Christian are expressed by Jewish allusions. 
The Prophets could only use their own language, 
and employ their own ideas and terms, even when 
speaking of another and a future dispensation. No- 
thing therefore can be more unwise, than to build 
opinions and expectations upon so weak a founda- 
tion as the names they often give to persons, places, 
and objects, taken from their own economy. Surely 
if a Jewish prophecy or promise be allowed to refer 
to Christian times, influences, and blessings, the 
phraseologies in which it is announced should be 
taken, not in a Jewish, but in a Christian interpreta- 
tion. Admit the reverse, and we should kill people, 
and think we do God service from the words before 
us ; and fetch a thousand absurdities from other pas- 
sages also. 



464 June 12. — Moening. 



JUNE 12.— MORNING. 

"The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to 
lead them the way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them 
light; to go by day and night; He took not away the pillar of 
the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the 
people." Exod. xiii. 21, 22. 

This institution was necessary; for there was no 
path in the desert ; and they had no maps, no pioneers, 
no guides. But, says God, I have not brought you 
out of Egypt to leave you to wander and perish in 
the wilderness — Behold your conductor unto the rest 
and the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth 
you. Accordingly,, by this, they w ere to be regulated 
in all their journeying. As this rose, they rose. As 
this paused, they paused. As this turned to the right 
hand or to the left, they turned. It sometimes called 
them to leave a more endeared spot, and to stop in a 
less inviting scene ; but they were not at liberty to 
cling to the one, or decline the other : the signal was 
instantly decisive. This pillar was obviously nothing 
less than a real miracle ; yet how little were the ob- 
servers affected by it ! They sinned, and even com- 
mitted idolatry, with this hovering prodigy always 
over them ! We are prone to ascribe too much mora) 
efficacy to such supernatural appearances. They soon 
became as unimpressive and uninfluential as the ordi- 
nary means of grace are with us. 

It was a symbol of the Divine Presence — "The 
Lord was in the pillar." It was this nearness of God 
that insured their safety, and gave them their distinc- 
tion and pre-eminence. There he was always at hand, 
always in view. "And," says Moses, "what nation 



June 12. — Morning. 465 

is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them as 
the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon 
him for ?" 

But how extensively adapted was this provision to 
their state and exigencies ! It was both a pillar of a 
cloud, and a pillar of fire, to lead them in the way — 
The one appearance was for the day ; the other for 
the night. Fire by day would have added to the 
dazzling and fervidness of a burning sky — the pillar 
was therefore a cloud by day, and screened them like 
a large umbrella from the scorching rays of the sun. 
Cloud by night would have added to the gloom, the 
darkness, and the dread of danger — the pillar was 
therefore a fire by night, to lick up the unwholesome 
damps, to warm the chilling atmosphere, and to afford 
them a light, by which they could see to move about 
in their tents, and also to travel, as they often did, 
after the sun was set. 

If this ordinance shewed his wisdom and goodness, 
the continuance of the blessing evinced his patience 
— for, notwithstanding their un worthiness, and their 
provocations, and their various corrections, this pillar 
was not taken away from before the people till they 
reached the border of Jordan, and came to their 
journey's end ! 

He has a people for his Name now. They are only 
strangers and pilgrims on earth, bound for a better 
country, that is, a heavenly. This they would never 
reach, if they were left to themselves. But the God 
of Israel is with them. They have not the same 
sensible proof of his presence as the Jews had. Yet 
they have real evidence of it ; and it is satisfactory to 
their own minds. He keeps them from falling. He 
accommodates himself to their conditions. He is a 
20* 



466 June 12.— Evening. 

very present help in trouble. He makes his good- 
ness to pass before them. He leads them by his word, 
and his Spirit, and his providence. He has also said, 
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Therefore 
they may boldly say, This God is our God for ever 
and ever : He will be our guide even unto death. 

" Thus, when our first release we gain 
From Sin's old yoke and. Satan's chain, 
We have this desert world to pass, — 
A dang'rous and a tiresome place. 

" He feeds and clothes us all the way ; 
He guides our footsteps lest we stray ; 
He guards us with a powerful hand ; 
And brings us to the promised land." 



JUNE 12.— EVENING. 

"That we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble 
by the comfort, wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 

, 2 Cor. i. 4. 

The Apostle mentions this as the purpose for 
which God had comforted him and his companions in 
all their tribulation. This is very instructive and 
edifying. "We see the aim of God in the favours he 
confers upon us. He means them not to terminate in 
ourselves, but to extend to others, like the streams in 
a vale which flow on and turn mill after mill, and re- 
fresh and fertilize meadow after meadow. We are 
not the proprietors, but only the stewards of the mani- 
fold grace of God : and we are to consider ourselves 
debtors, not only to him, but to our fellow-creatures. 
If we are rich in this world's good, we are to be ready 
to distribute. If we are enlightened, we are to arise 
and shine. If we are converted, we are to strengthen 



June 12. — Evening. 467 

our brethren — and if we are comforted, Ave are to be 
comforters. 

"We also see how the Lord employs human instru- 
mentality. He is the Grod of all comfort ; but though 
he is the source, we are the mediums. He could dis- 
pense with our services, but he wisely employs them ; 
as he thereby secures our own improvement; promotes 
brotherly love ; unites the giver to the receiver by 
pity, and the receiver to the giver by gratitude ; shews 
us that there is a connexion between all ranks and 
degrees in society ; that there is no such thing as in- 
dependence ; that every man has something to receive 
to teach him humility, and that every man has some- 
thing to impart to keep him from discouragement. 
" If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I 
am not of the body*; is it therefore not of the body? 
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not of the eye, 
I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of the body ? 
But now are they many members, yet but one body. 
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need 
of thee ; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need 
of you." 

We therefore learn also, how free our minds should 
be from that selfishness which is satisfied with per- 
sonal advantage and enjoyment. "Look not," says 
the Apostle, " every man on his own things, but every 
man also on the things of others." And how well does 
he exemplify his own admonition ! He delights' in the 
thought that the crown of righteousness was secured 
for others as well as himself. He wishes that all his 
hearers had all his blessedness without his bonds. 
And we here see how he prized the consolations he 
had enjoyed, not because he had been comforted by 



468 June 12. — Evening. 

them in Ills sufferings, but because they would render 
him useful to others who are in any trouble. 

Such as are "in any trouble," have peculiar claims 
upon us ; and we are " able to comfort them with those 
comforts, wherewith we ourselves have been comforted 
of God," three ways. First, by excitement — They 
dispose and stir us up to exertion and communication. 
Fear unnerves : despondence makes us sluggish : and 
the mourner sitteth alone and keeps silence, like the 
stricken deer that leaves the herd. But Divine con- 
solation enlivens, actuates, and discovers itself: and 
the language of the happy receiver is; "Come and 
hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he 
hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my 
mouth, and he was extolled by my tongue." Silence 
would be enjoined in vain — "If these should hold 
their peace, the stones would cry out." " We cannot 
but speak the things that we have seen and heard." 
Secondly, by qualification. The heart teacheth the 
lips. They can speak, in dealing with others, more 
surely, more earnestly, more suitably, more wisely. 
Having laboured and been heavy-laden themselves, 
they can speak a word in season to him that is weary. 
Having found relief themselves, they can lead others 
to the same place of succour. Thirdly, by example. 
If nothing were said in words, the fact itself would 
address others ; and evince what can be done, in shew- 
ing what has been done. Here is actual experience. 
Here are proofs that the Lord does not leave his people 
comfortless : that he is a very present help in trouble ; 
that his grace is equally free and powerful, that none 
who seek it shall be disappointed, and none con- 
founded that trust in it. When the Lord's people 



June 13. — Morning. 469 

sustain losses in their endearments, and yet say, The 
Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away ; and blessed 
be the name of the Lord : when they receive the word 
in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost : when, 
though walking in the valley of the shadow of death, 
they fear no evil, but rejoice in hope of the glory of 
God : how many thank God and take courage ! 



JUNE 13.— MORNING. 

"The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them 
make them broad plates for a covering of the altar." 

Ntjmb. xvi. 38. 

He had solemnly forewarned and admonished the 
rebels themselves before they suffered : and thus, in 
wrath he remembered mercy. When Korah, Dathan, 
and Abiram, who headed the conspiracy, were buried 
alive ; and their companions, the two hundred and 
fifty princes, men of honour, were burned with fire ; 
he would make them beacons ; and prevent others 
from coming into the same condemnation. Orders, 
therefore, were given to take up the censers in which 
they had dared to burn incense ; and make of them 
broad plates to cover the altar of burnt offering — that 
they might be "a sign unto the children of Israel:" 
that is, a memorial to the Levites, and the comers 
thereunto, of the revolt of these men ; and that they 
were punished for invading an office which God had 
forbidden them. 

Whence we note, that the sin which is hurtful to 
the transgressors should be useful to the observers. 

" These sinners against their own souls" ! When- 
ever men sin, they sin agaiiist themselves. Society 



470 June 13. — Morning. 

cannot exist without laws : and laws are nothing with- 
out penalties. Connivance at the guilty would be 
cruelty to the innocent. In every well-ordered go- 
vernment crimes are punished. And will they, can 
they, escape in the empire of a Being, holy in all his 
ways, and righteous in all his works ? What would 
you think of a magistrate who bore the sword in vain? 
and who was not a terror to evil doers, as well as a 
praise to them that do well? What would you think 
of him, if, when you brought before him the incendiary 
of your house, or the murderer of your child, he 
should say, This does not regard me — and smile, and 
say — Go in peace ! We dislike the word vindictive 
justice — there seems something malignant in it: but 
substitute, in the room of it, the vindicatory, or puni- 
tive, justice of God, and we contend that this is essen- 
tial to the excellency of his character ; and that you 
could not esteem, or even love him without it. What 
regard could you have for a being who equally re- 
spected lies and truth ? cruelty and kindness? a Nero 
and a Howard ? We readily own, that when anger 
and wrath are ascribed to God in the Scriptures, they 
do not imply any thing in him like passion in us ; but 
only principle. But principle they do establish : and 
this principle is the soul of order ; adherence to rec- 
titude ; determination to punish. 

And we may see this in his threatenings. For his 
wrath is revealed from heaven against all unrighteous- 
ness and ungodliness of men. If this Book be true, 
the wicked shall not stand in his sight. He hateth all 
workers of iniquity. 

He has also confirmed and exemplified it in his con- 
duct. Look to heaven, and see the angels sinning 
against themselves, and cast down to hell. See Adam 



June 13. — Morning. 471 

and Eve driven from the garden of Eden. See the 
Flood carrying away the world of the ungodly. See 
the inhabitants of the Plain. And Pharaoh. And the 
nations of Canaan. And the Jews, though so pecu- 
liarly indulged of God. Yea, he even visits the trans- 
gressions of good men with a rod : and, though he 
forgives their iniquities, he takes vengeance on their 
inventions. See Moses and Aaron forbidden to enter 
the Land of Promise : and Eli and David so awfully 
judged in this life. And if these things are done in 
the green tree, what shall be done in the dry ? And 
if the righteous are recompensed in the earth, how 
much more the sinner and the ungodly ! 

It would be easy to trace the injury of sin with 
regard to every thing of which the welfare of the 
sinner is compounded. His connexions ought to be 
dear to him. But how does he sin against these! 
How does the wicked child rend the heart of his 
parents, and bring down their gray hairs with sorrow 
to the grave! How does the husband, instead of 
providing for those of his own house, by his vices, 
reduce the wife he ought to love even as himself to 
indigence and wretchedness, and her hapless babes 
along with her ! What a blessing is health ! But how 
does he sin against this ! By intemperance and sen- 
suality, he is made to possess the iniquities of his 
youth, which lie down with him in the dust. Env}^ 
is the rottenness of the bones. So are hatred and 
malice. And so are all those corroding anxieties and 
fears which they must feel who have no confidence 
in God, or hope of heaven. Eeputation is desirable, 
as it enables us to live in the esteem of others ; an -J 
valuable, as it is an instrument of usefulness : a good 
name, says Wisdom itself, is better than great riches. 



472 June 13.— Morning. 

But • who regards the sinner ? Who confides in him ? 
What is his friendship? or his promise ? The name 
of the wicked shall rot. A wicked man is loathsome, 
and cometh to shame. We must be measured, and 
weighed, by our souls. The mind is the standard of 
the man. This is the seat of happiness or misery. 
But he that sinneth against me, says Grod, wrongeth 
his own soul. Wrongs it of peace — for there is no 
peace to the wicked. Wrongs it of liberty and plea- 
sure — for he is in the gall of bitterness, and in the 
bond of iniquity. Wrongs it of safety — for the wrath 
of God abideth on him : he is condemned already. 

But let not these sinners surfer in vain. They are 
our martyrs : they die and perish for us. Their loss 
should be our gain ; and their destruction, our salva- 
tion. 

The first advantage we may derive from an obser- 
vation of the sins and sufferings of others, is the con- 
firmation of our faith. And nothing can tend more 
to establish our belief in the truth of the Scripture 
than to take its declarations and decisions, and com- 
pare them with the documents of men's lives. The 
Bible tells us that the way of transgressors is hard. 
That they proceed from evil to evil. That a little 
leaven leaveneth the whole lump. That the com- 
panion of fools shall be destroyed. That the love of 
money is the root of all evil. And who has not seen 
this, as well as read it ? 

Another benefit is gratitude. When we see the 
wicked, we see what we should have been, but for 
preventing and distinguishing grace. Who made me 
to differ? Have I a heart of flesh, while they are 
insensible ? Am I light in the Lord, while they are 
darkness? Am I walking in the way everlasting, 



i 



June 13. — Morning. 473 

while destruction and misery is in their paths ? By 
the grace of God, I am what I am. 

The observation should also awaken and excite zeal. 
Surely none so much need our compassion as those 
who are destroying themselves for ever. We talk of 
doing good. What advantage can we procure a fel- 
low-creature like that godliness which is profitable 
unto all things ? What enemy can we rescue him 
from, like his lusts and vices? If we convert a sinner 
from the error of his way, we save a soul from death, 
and hide a multitude of sins. 

It should also serve to wean us from the present 
world. What a bedlam it is ! What a sink of cor- 
ruption too ! What righteous soul is not daily, hourly, 
vexed with the filthy conversation of the ungodly ? 
Thus the ear, the eye, the heart, is constantly annoyed. 
We behold the transgressors, and are grieved. Oh 
that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of way- 
faring men ! Oh that I had wings like a dove, for 
then would I flee away, and be at rest — with the spirits 
of just men made perfect — dwelling in love, and dwell- 
ing in God ! 

Finally. Let us fetch from it warnings. When 
Daniel, addressing Belshazzar, reminded him of his 
father's pride and destruction, he aggravates his guilt 
by saying, "Thou knewest all this." When the Apos- 
tle mentions " the sins and plagues that Israel knew," 
he says, "Now these things were our examples to the 
intent we should not lust after evil things, as they 
also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of 
them ; as it is written, The people sat down to eat 
and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us com- 
mit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell 
in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let 



474 June 13. — Evening. 

us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and 
were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as 
some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of 
the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto 
them for ensamples : and they are written for our ad- 
monition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed 
lest he fall." 

And surely, my soul, if the sins of others may be 
rendered thus profitable, I ought to be concerned 
to gain something from my own. Let me derive wis- 
dom from my follies; strength from my weakness i 
and standing from my very falls. Let me see more of 
my depravity ; and put on humbleness of mind ; and 
apply to the blood of sprinkling ; and never more 
trust in my own heart, but be strong in the grace that 
is in Christ Jesus : and be sober and vigilant ; and — 
till I am beyond the reach of evil, pray, " Hold thou 
me up, and I shall be safe." 

JUNE 13.— EVENING. 

" Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly ?" 

Micah ii. 1. 

They do evil and injury to many. Thousands will 
curse for ever the hour they became acquainted with 
the Scriptures : for they derive from them only an 
increase of guilt and of condemnation. But this is not 
the effect of design or of natural tendency in them ; 
for the Bible is intended and adapted to do us good 
only ; but it is the accidental result of depravity ; and 
therefore it is confined to those who pervert it, abuse 
it, neglect it ; and thus turn the blessing into a curse. 
But his words do good to him that walketh uprightly. 



June 13. — Evening. 475 

They do good indeed to others, and are the means of 
the conversion of sinners. Bat the prophet is not 
speaking of what the Scriptures do in bringing us 
into a religious state, but of the benefit they render us 
when we are in it. Our Saviour, in the parable of the 
sower, does not explain hoiu the ground is made good 
— this he has done in other places : but of the effect of 
the seed in bringing forth thirty, sixty, or a hundred 
fold, when falling where it is already good — in dis- 
tinction from its unprofitableness when uniting with 
the way-side, and the stony and thorny soil. The 
Author of the origin of the rain is another question ; 
but the Apostle is speaking only of its influence 
according to the subject imbibing it, when he says 
that, coming upon the garden, it bringeth forth herbs 
meet for them by whom it is dressed, and receives a 
blessing from God : but in other places it calls forth 
weeds, and thorns, and briers, which are nigh unto 
cursing, and whose end is to be burned. The word 
of Grod must operate according to the principles and 
dispositions it finds in us. If it be food, it is nothing 
to the dead, but to the living only. It is milk for 
babes, and strong meat for men. If it be a rule, the 
benefit is only to them that walk by it. And we are 
never in so suitable a state to be benefited by it as when 
conscience is awake, and we are sincerely desirous of 
knowing the will of Grod, and are resolved to follow 
it, whatever difficulties may lie in the way. Hence 
says James, "Wherefore Fay apart all filthiness and 
superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness 
the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls." 
And thus Peter also : " Wherefore laying aside all 
malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and 
all evil-speakinrs, as new-born babes, desire the sin- 



476 June 13. — Evening. 

cere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby ; if 
so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." 

For we are not to expect that his words will do us 
good mechanically, that is, without our consciousness 
or activity ; or that they will act in us as physical 
causes operate in the body, where the concoction of 
the food, and the circulation of the fluids go on, when 
we are asleep, as well as when we are awake, being 
independent of our volitions and thoughts. The 
Scriptures can only affect us morally, in a way of 
motive, in the exercises of the mind, and in the use of 
the means which God has appointed. This does not 
supersede Divine influence, but is the way in which it 
works, and in which alone we are authorized to look 
for it. If God's words are to do us good, we must 
read them — we must hear them — we must believe 
them — we must understand them — we must reflect 
upon them — we must speak of them — we must pray 
over them. But what is the benefit they will then do 
us? It would be endless to describe it. They are 
profitable unto all things. 

They will do us good in a way of information. For 
the soul to be without knowledge is not good. But 
there is no knowledge like that which is derived from 
the Scriptures. It is so clear, so full, so important, so 
blessed — it giveth life to them that have it. What an 
advantage, in every duty, in every perplexity, to be 
able to go to these lively oracles, to learn what God 
the Lord has to say concerning us ; and to hear a 
voice saying, This is the way, walk ye i n it ! 

They will do us good in a way of excitement. "We 
often grow dull and formal in religion. We have a 
name that we live, but are dead ; or the things that 
remain are ready to die. But when our souls cleave 



June 13. — Evening. 477 

unto the dust, he quickens us according to his word ; 
and the effect endears it, and enables us to remember 
it : "I will never forget thy precepts ; for with them 
thou hast quickened me." 

They will do us good in a way of rebuke. If they 
deal truly with us — and they will never natter ; they 
will— they must frequently reprove us. And if we 
are concerned for our real welfare, we shall not es- 
teem them our enemy because they tell us the truth. 
We shall cordially say, "Faithful are the wounds of 
a friend;" and falling in with their wholesome sever- 
ity, we shall fall upon our knees and pray, " Search 
me, God, and know my heart ; try me, and know 
my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in 
me, and lead me in the way everlasting." How im- 
proper is it to limit the benefit of the word to en- 
couragement ; and to suppose that we have never a 
good opportunity, as the phrase is, when we attend 
upon it, unless it comforts us ! What a blessing is it 
to be humbled, to be emptied of self, to see more of 
our own weakness and vileness, and to cry mightily 
at the foot of the cross, "God be merciful to me a 
sinner !" 

Not that we undervalue comfort. The joy of the 
Lord is our strength : and these words he has spoken 
unto us, that his joy may be in us, and that our joy 
may be full. They therefore do us good, by inspir- 
ing us" with everlasting consolation and good hope 
through grace. They relieve the wearied, oppressed 
with a sense of grief and unworthiness, by leading 
them to the Lamb of God, and giving them access 
with confidence, by the faith of him. They tell us 
what we are to do with trouble; and they tell us 
what trouble is to do for us. Ah ! says the bereaved 



478 June 14. — Morning. 

and desolate, unless thy law had been my delight, I 
should have perished in mine affliction. Ah! says 
the dying, I will fear no evil ; thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me. 

We talk of benefactors ! What good has the Bible 
done ! What millions has it blessed ! And in what 
countless instances has it blessed each of them ! How 
much do I owe it ! Bless the Lord, my soul. 
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift ; and 
let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, 
and Amen. 



JUNE 14.— MORNING. 

" Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and 
yet hast thou not known me, Philip ?" John xiv. 9. 

He had been with Philip and his fellow disciples 
corporeally ; for the Word was made flesh, and 
dwelt among them, and they beheld his glory. But 
his bodily presence was confined to Judasa, and few 
knew him, after the flesh. And soon he was known 
so no more ; for he was received up into heaven. 
But it is remarkable, that while on earth, he evinced 
that his efficiency was not dependent on his bodily 
presence : for he performed cures at a distance, as we 
see in the case of the nobleman's son, and the centu- 
rion's servant, who were healed by no application, but 
simply by his volition ; as if to encourage the belief, 
that when removed hence, he could still operate in 
our world. 

And, if his word is to be relied upon, he is with 
his people now. What was his promise to his minis- 
ters? to his churches ? to individuals? "Lo! I am 



June 14. — Morning. 479 

with you alwaj, even unto the end of the world." 
" Where two or three are gathered together in my 
name, there am I in the midst of them." "If a man 
love me, he will keep my words ; and my Father will 
love him, and we will come unto him, and make our 
abode with him." Therefore, he has either given 
promises which he is unable to fulfil ; or, though now 
in heaven, he is with his disciples on earth — with 
them specially, graciously, spiritually. Effects prove 
the existence of the cause. The operation of the 
workman shews his presence. And that " his Name 
is near, his wondrous works declare." He has done 
enough in the Christian, to demonstrate that he is 
with him — and he hath said, I will never leave thee, 
nor forsake thee. 

Yet he says to Philip — "Hast thou not known 
me ?" Philip was not entirely ignorant of him. But 
he knew him not sufficiently : he knew him not com- 
paratively; he knew him not, considering how he 
might have known him. And is not this the case 
with us? Some have very little knowledge -of any 
kind. They never guide even the common affairs of 
this life with discretion. They seem incapable of im- 
provement. Even suffering does not teach them wis- 
dom. " Experience," says Franklin, " is a dear school ; 
yet fools will learn in no other." And they do not 
learn even in this. Yet the children of this world are 
wiser in their generation than the children of light. 
We live in a land of vision ; we have Sabbaths, and 
Bibles, and religious ordinances and teachers. Yet as 
to knowledge of the peculiar truths of the Gospel, and 
the reality of Christian experience, numbers are as 
ignorant as heathens : " The light shineth in dark- 
ness, but the darkness comprehendeth it not." Must 



480 June 14. — Mokning. 

we go on ? What do many Christians, real Christians, 
who have long had the great Teacher with them — 
what do even they know ? — What do they know of 
their own interest in him? Are they not yet unable 
to determine what their spiritual condition is, and to 
say with Thomas, My Lord and my God ? — How lit- 
tle do they know of his salvation ! How little of 
the glories of his person ! How little of the nature 
of his dispensations towards them : so that they — 
are confounded with the fresh discoveries they make 
of the evils of their own hearts — perplexed with their 
afflictions — desponding if difficulties multiply, and 
they see no means or way of escape — and ready to 
conclude that he has shut out their prayers, because 
he does not immediately and sensibly answer them : 
and all this from their knowing so little of the manner 
in which he deals with his people. 

Yet the defectiveness of their knowledge is very 
censurable, especially after long intimacy with him. 
Hence the Apostle reproaches the Hebrews; "When 
for the -time ye ought to have been teachers, ye have 
need that one teach you again which be the first prin- 
ciples of the oracles of God." Hence our Lord said 
to his disciples on another occasion ; "Are ye also yet 
without understanding?" And here again he says: 
"Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast 
thou not known me, Philip?" He had scarcely been 
three years with them then ; and he had very gradu- 
ally developed himself, and kept back many things 
for a future communication. Yet it was a long period, 
considering its importance and privileges. And al- 
ways having access to him, with their inquiries ; — 
and hearing his discourses; and witnessing all his 
conduct; — they ought to have gained much more than 



June 14. — Morning. 481 

they did. But they were slow of heart, and made verj 
little progress, as we see by their various mistakes and 
embarrassments. Yet what right have we to cast a 
stone at them? How few, how poor, how wretched, 
have been our attainments ! — And yet he has been 
much longer with many of us — ten — twenty — forty 
years — years, too, abounding with every assistance. 
Four things ought to make us blush at the thought 
of this. 

First. The necessity and value of the knowledge 
we have made so little proficiency in. How much 
depends upon it: our usefulness — our preservation 
from error — our peace, and comfort — and our progress 
in the divine life! For though we may grow in 
knowledge without growing in grace, we cannot 
grow in grace without growing in knowledge. Keli- 
gion does not act upon us mechanically, but morally ; 
that is, through the influence of just views and mo- 
tives. 

Secondly. Some have made far greater advance- 
ment in much less time, and with very inferior advan- 
tages. They set out long after us; but they soon 
passed us on the road. They have had very little 
pious intercourse, and have seldom heard a Gospel 
sermon. Yet, when we converse with them ; and 
observe them in the relations — duties — and trials 
of life ; how much below them must we feel ourselves 
to be ! 

Thirdly. Our obligations and responsibility rise 
with our means and opportunities. What an advan- 
tage are pious relations ! What a privilege is a Gos- 
pel ministry ! What a precious talent is time ! Where 
is conscience while we look at our slender improve- 



21 



482 Juse 14. — Mokklng. 

ment of all these ? — Where much is given, much will 
be required. 

Lastly. Our unprofitableness is the subject of 
Divine disappointment and complaint. " What could 
have been done more to my vineyard that I have not 
done in it ? Wherefore, when I looked that it should 
bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?" 
The thought of displeasing and dishonouring him is 
nothing to some people. But shall we provoke, and 
grieve, his holy Spirit? Can we who love him and 
know what he has done for us — can we be insensible 
to the Saviour's decision — "Herein is my Father 
glorified, that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my 
disciples"? 

What remains — but that we admire and adore the 
patience of Him who still bears with us, though we 
have so often constrained him to ask, "How long 
shall I be with you ? how long shall I suffer you ?" — 
And let us search and try our ways, and turn again 
unto the Lord. Let us guard against indecision and 
sloth. Let us be diligent in the use of all the means 
of religious improvement. Let us not cease to pray, 
that we maybe "filled with the knowledge of his 
will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That 
we may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, 
being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in 
i he knowledge of God." 

" Then shall we know if we follow on to know the 
Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning. 
And he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter 
and former rain unto the earth." 



June 14. — Evening. 483 

june 14.— evening. 

"Adam, where art thou ?" Gen. iii. 9. 

The question regards not so much the place as 
the state in which Adam now was. And it is not to 
be considered as indicating any proof of ignorance ; 
for who can hide himself from the view of Omnis- 
cience? But it implies several things the result of 
knowledge. 

It is the expression of surprise — "Adam, where 
art thou ?" As if he had said, " Before, when I came 
thou wert ready to meet me ; and my presence was 
thy delight. What in so short a space of time has 
produced this change ? What have I done to cause 
this alienation and flight from me ?" If this seems 
an unbecoming representation of God, let it be 
remembered that he has himself furnished it — "Be 
astonished, ye heavens, at this." " What could have 
been done more to my vineyard that I have not done 
in it ? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring 
forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?" He can- 
not indeed be imposed upon, but he has a right to com- 
plain ; and speaks according to the equity of the case. 
"Adam, where art thou?" 

It is the language of upbraiding. "Is this the 
return thou hast made for all the favours with which 
I have indulged thee ? Is this the use thou hast made 
of the noble faculties with which I have endowed! 
and ennobled thee ? Is this thy kindness to thy friend ? 
Is this acting the part of a faithful steward towards 
his proprietor? of a dutiful child towards a good 
father? of an obedient servant towards the best 
of masters? Did I envy thy welfare, or wish to 



484 June 14— Evening. 

aoridge thy happiness? I only forbad thee one 
tree in all the garden; and even this was forbid- 
den for thy trial, and with a view to thy honour and 
reward." 

It is the lamentation of pity. He is not only the 
just God, but the Saviour : he is not only righteous 
in all his ways, and holy in all his works, but full of 
compassion, and slow to anger. As, when our Lord, 
condemned by the Pharisees for healing the withered 
arm on the Sabbath-day, looked round about upon his 
audience " with anger, being grieved for the hardness 
of their hearts;" and as, when he looked upon the 
backsliding Peter, and dissolved him into godly sor- 
row, there was not only surprise and upbraiding in 
the glance, but mercy and readiness to forgive : so 
here, in the voice that addressed Adam, there was not 
only alarm, but tenderness; not only abhorrence of 
the crime, but pity for the criminal — •" Poor Adam, 
what hast thou done ? What misery hast thou brought 
upon thyself? I have no pleasure in the death of him 
that dieth. How shall I give thee up ? Adam, where 
art thou ?" 

But the question admits of a universal application ; 
and we should bring it home to ourselves ; and for 
three reasons. First, because of the relation there is 
between Adam and ourselves. There is no other 
creature with whom we are so intimately and influ- 
entially connected. He was the father and the natural 
head, and he was the representative and the federal 
head of the whole human race. "By one man's dis- 
obedience many were made sinners." " By one man's 
offence death reigned by one." "In Adam all die." 
— Secondly, because by personal transgression we 
bring ourselves into the same state. All sin is the 



June 14. — Evening. 485 

same in its nature and tendency. We sin, and expose 
ourselves to danger — Fear treads on the heels of guilt 
-—Dread produces aversion — And we try to secure 
ourselves, instead of repairing to his feet, and im- 
ploring mercy. In one respect we are worse than 
Adam. He, after the first act of iniquity, could not 
look God in the face : while we go on still in our tres- 
passes; often daringly enter his presence and stand 
before him in his worship ; and seem to defy rather 
than endeavour to elude him — So men are hardened 
through the deceitfulness of sin! — Thirdly, because 
the inquiry may lead us to examine our state, and 
apprehend our doom. And what a blessing is it to 
be apprized of our danger while it is in our power to 
escape ! Would not a man have reason to be thank- 
ful, if a person should break his slumber, however 
pleasing, while sleeping in a house just ready to bury 
him in the ruins ? Conviction of sin may be painful ; 
but it is salutary, it is necessary. Without a conscious- 
ness of the disease, a remedy will neither be valued 
nor applied — " They that be whole need not the phy- 
sician, but they that are sick." It was a blessed cry in 
the jailer, when he exclaimed, " What must I do to be 
saved?" It secured the direction and the promise; 
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved and thy house." 

Nothing hinders our full relief as sinners by the 
Gospel but our ignorant pride in refusing to submit 
ourselves to the righteousness which is of God. " To 
this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of 
a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word." 



486 June 15. — Mokning. 



JUNE 15.— MORNING. 



"When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, 
•when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people 
according to the number of the children of Israel." Detjt. xxxii. 8. 

This is an important and interesting communication. 
It supplies us with two facts. 

First. That God originally divided the nations 
their inheritance. When after the Deluge he gave 
the new earth to the children of men, he did not throw 
it in among them, so to speak, for a kind of scramble, 
that each might seize what he could : but he assigned 
them their several portions, that the discontented might 
ndt invade the peaceful, nor the mighty prey upon the 
weak. God permits what he does not approve: but 
nothing can be more contrary to his design and pleasure 
than for powerful states to invade and incorporate 
little ones. And the crime generally punishes itself 
Such unjust and forced accessions add nothing to the 
safety, strength, or happiness, of the acquirers; but 
become sources of uneasiness, corruption, and revolt — 
so difficult is it to suppress old attachments, and 
patriotic instincts that are almost equal to the force of 
Nature. Paul justifies the sentiment of Moses: "He 
hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell 
on all the face of the earth, and hath determined 
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their 
habitation ; that they should seek the Lord, if haply 
they might feel after him, and find him, though he be 
not far from every one of us." 

Secondly. In the arrangement of the limits and 
conditions of mankind, he had an especial reference 
to the future commonwealth of Israel. For they were 



June 15. — Morning. 487 

by far the most important detachment of the human 
race. They were the Lord's portion, and the lot of 
his inheritance. They were the depositaries of re- 
vealed religion: the heirs of the righteousness which 
is by faith. To them pertained the adoption, and the 
glory, and the covenant, and the giving of the Law, 
and the service of God, and the promises : theirs were 
the fathers; and of them as concerning the flesh, 
Christ came. We cannot trace this fact perfectly, for 
want of more materials ; and we know not all the 
purposes of Grod in making and keeping the Jews a 
peculiar body — otherwise we should clearly see how 
all the dispensations of God corresponded to their 
privileged destination. 

One thing is to be observed. They were not in- 
tended to engross the Divine favour, but to be the 
mediums and diffusers of it. They were not only to 
be blessed, but to be blessings. Hence their being- 
placed in the midst of the earth, that from them know- 
ledge might be derived, and proselytes to revealed 
religion might be made ; and that, in the fulness of 
time, out of Zion might go forth the law and the word 
of the Lord from Jerusalem; and that the Great 
Supper, as our Lord calls it, and which was designed 
for the whole family of Adam, might be spread in the 
midst of the earth, and be accessible to all. 

While we here see that there is nothing like chance 
in the government of the world, there is what may be 
called a peculiar providence in particular instances. 
And here we cannot help thinking of our own country. 
ISTo country on earth bears such a comparison with 
Judeea, in privilege and design, as this favoured land. 
Its appropriation and appointment will account for 
its preservation, and emerging from difficulties which 



488 June 15. — Morning. 

seemed likely to swallow it up. And when we con 
sider what it is, and what it more than promises to be 7 
we can find reason for its insular situation ; its govern- 
ment, laws, and commerce ; its talent and learning,, 
and influence, and dominion. We are a sinful people : 
but as "the new wine is found in the cluster, and one 
saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it ; so, says 
God, will I do, for my servants' sakes, that I may not 
destroy them all." We cannot approve of every thing 
we have done, especially in the West and East Indies : 
but we cannot be ignorant that God is overruling it 
for good ; and has ends in view far beyond slaveholder 
and mercantile companies, and heroes, and statesmen. 
We have fought and we have conquered: but the 
Negro is instructed ; and the captive is made free 
indeed ; and openings are made and occupied for the 
spread of the Gospel. 

The economies of Heaven on earth have always 
been regulated by one end — the cause of the Messiah : 
and could we view things as God does, we should 
perceive how all the revolutions of the world; the 
changes of empire ; the successes or defeats of haughty 
worms ; have affected this cause, immediately or re- 
motely in a way — of achievement or preparation — of 
purification or increase — of solidity or diffusion ; and 
that all things are going on, not only consistently with 
it, but conducively to it. For, says the Euler over 
all, "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of 
my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, 
That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue 
shall swear." 

And, oh! Christian, there is a special providence 
over thee. The hairs of thy head are all numbered. 
One thing regulates all that befalls thee : all the dark. 



June 15. — Evening. 489 

as well as the clear ; all the painful, as well as the 
cheerful — thy spiritual — thy everlasting welfare : il for 
we know that all things work together for good to 
them that love God ; to them that are the called ac- 
cording to his purpose." 

JUNE 15.— EVENING. 

"Ye are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your 
souls." 1 Pet. ii. 25. 

For they ivere as sheep going astray — This was 
their state by nature. But now they are in a state of 
grace. And two things are observed with regard to 
it. First, they enter it by a return — Ye are returned. 
Grace never leaves us as it finds us. It makes us the 
subjects of a change — not a change from one class of 
opinions to another, or from one denomination to 
another — not a change from mere gross vices to moral 
duties ; but a change of mind, of heart, and of life ; 
and which embodies the various representations given 
of it in the Scriptures. It is a turning from darkness 
to light, and the power of Satan unto God. It is the 
renewing of the Holy Ghost. It is a new birth, a 
new creation. The work, though always essentially 
the same, differs in various individuals. The means 
also by which it is produced are not the same in all 
instances. In general, it is accomplished by the 
preaching of the word ; but sometimes it is effected 
by reading the Scriptures, by a good book, by pious 
conversation, by affliction — "Lo! all these things 
worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring back his 
soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of 
the living." 

But let us never suppose that the return is owing 
21* 



490 June 15. — Evening. 

to himself. It is supposed the Apostle designed to 
express this by the form of his expression. It is in the 
passive voice — not ye — returned, but ye are returned 
— that is, as if he had said, ye have been caused to re- 
turn. We would not, however, found a doctrine of 
such importance on a mere grammaticism. The truth 
is expressly asserted. "Not by works of righteous- 
ness which we have done, but according to his mercy 
he saved us." " For by grace are ye saved through 
faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of Grod : 
not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are 
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good 
works, which Cod hath before ordained that we should 
walk in them." 

Secondly, this return brings them to Christ — " Ye 
are returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your 
souls." He is the personage spoken of; and how well 
does he deserve the titles ! — But observe, the grand 
thing in religion is our being brought to Christ. 
Therefore he himself said, " Come unto me :" " Every 
man therefore that hath heard and learned of the 
Father cometh nnto me. 11 As it pleased the Father 
that in him should all fulness dwell, " to him," it is 
said, " shall men come." " To him shall the gathering 
of the people be." It is with him we have to do im- 
mediately in the concerns of the soul. We want a 
mediator between Grod and us ; but Ave want no me- 
diator between Christ and us — To him we must come 
as we are. " In the Lord have I righteousness and 
strength." 

Christians ! what gratitude becomes you ! Ye were 
darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Ye were 
in bondage, but are now in the glorious liberty of the 
sons of God. Ye were destitute of all spiritual good, 



June 15. — Evening. 491 

but are now blessed with all spiritual blessings. How 
should your obligation to such infinite goodness be 
discharged? By a few languid emotions? or formal 
acknowledgments ? A soul redeemed demands a life 
of praise. 

Christians? what confidence, what joy becomes 
you ? All hail, ye highly favoured of the Lord ! — 
" Ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned 
unto the Shepherd and Bishop of souls ,? — You are 
returned unto One who loved you from eternity, and 
always bore you in his heart — You are returned to 
one who saved you from a thousand dangers, and 
preserved you by his providence till he called you by 
his grace— You are returned to one whose power is 
almighty, whose heart is made of tenderness, who 
never leaves you, ' never slumbers nor sleeps — You 
are returned to one who, lest any hurt you, keeps 
you night and day, and has said, My sheep shall never 
perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand 
— You are returned to one who will feed his flock 
like a shepherd ; who will gather the lambs with his 
arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead 
those that are with young — who will make you to lie 
down in green pastures, and feed you beside the still 
waters, and restore your souls, and lead you in the 
paths of righteousness for his Name's sake. Yea, 
though you walk through the valley of the shadow of 
death, you need fear no evil ; for he will be with you, 
his rod and his staff will comfort you. And not only 
so, but he will bring you into Immanuel's land and 
the heavenly places, where the Lamb that is in the 
midst of the throne shall feed you, and lead you to 
living fountains of waters, and (rod shall wipe away 
all tears from your eyes. 



492 June 16. — Morning. 



JUNE 16.— MORNING. 



And it will be well to follow David ; and to keep 
the lovingkindness of Grod before our eyes also. This 
should be done four ways. 

First. As a subject of contemplation. The mind 
will be active ; and it is our wisdom to regulate and 
sanctify our thoughts. Isaac went out into the field 
at eventide to meditate ; and we may infer the nature 
of his reflections from his character. David said, My 
meditation of him shall be sweet. How precious are 
thy thoughts unto me, O God ! how great is the sum 
of them ! People complain of the difficulty they feel 
in fixing their minds: but the duty would become 
easier by use — and surely they never can be at a loss 
for a theme. I*et them take his lovingkindness, and 
set it before their eyes. Let them observe it as it 
appears in the promises of his word ; in the history 
of his Church ; in their own experience. Let them 
pass from the instances of his lovingkindness to the 
qualities of it. Let them dwell upon its earliness ; 
and fulness ; and extensiveness ; and seasonableness ; 
and constancy — " Whoso is wise and will observe 
these things, even they shall understand the loving- 
kindness of the Lord." 

Secondly. As the source of encouragement. How 
often shall we need this ! We shall feel our want of 
it under a sense of our guilt, and unworthiness, and 
continued imperfections ; and nothing short of the 
exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards 
us by Christ Jesus, will be able to relieve us. But 
this will relieve us ; and effectually succour us. It will 



June 16. — Morning. 493 

give us everlasting consolation and good hope through, 
grace; and boldness and access with confidence by 
the faith of him. And it will do all this without re- 
conciling us to our sins, or even our infirmities — yea, 
it will make us lament our deficiencies the more, and 
grieve that we serve him so little, who loves us so 
much. We shall want it in our afflictions. And who 
can hope to escape these in a vale of tears? Now 
nothing is so desirable in our sufferings as to see, not 
only the hand but the kindness of God in them. For 
often they look like the effects of his wrath, and we 
tremble under them, and cry, " Do not condemn me. 
I could bear these trials if I thought they were only 
the strokes of a Father's rod, and knew they were 
sent in love." And they are sent in love. They are 
only the strokes of a Father's rod, laid hold of with 
reluctance and laid aside with pleasure. 

Thirdly. As an excitement to praise. It is afflict- 
ing to think how little the lovingkindness of God is 
acknowledged by those who are constantly partaking 
of it. How lamentable, says Leighton, is it, that a 
world so full of God's mercy should be so empty of 
his glory ! Oh ! says David, again and again, Oh that 
men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for 
his wonderful works to the children of men ! Were 
there not ten lepers cleansed ? But where are the 
nine ? Did even Hezekiah render according to the 
benefits done him ? And are we better than they ? 
And whence is it that we feel so little the obligations 
we are under to the God of our mercies ? Because 
the mercies of God are so little remarked and remem- 
bered by us. Nothing can impress us when it is out 
of our minds and thoughts. Therefore, says David, 
" Bless the 'Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his 



494: June 16. — Morning. 

benefits." At the moment when God appears for 
us, we are sensible of his goodness, and speak well of 
his Name : but like the Jews, we soon forget his 
works, and the wonders which he has shewn us. We 
inscribe our afflictions upon a rock, and the characters 
remain : we write our mercies on the sand of the 
seashore, and the first wave of trouble washes them 
out. 

Lastly. We should keep his lovingkindness be- 
fore our eyes as an example for imitation. The 
Scripture calls upon us to be followers of God as 
dear children. And in what are we to resemble him ? 
His moral, and not his natural perfections. We 
may wish to resemble Him in power and indepen- 
dence; and to be as gods knowing good and evil. 
But we are to be concerned to reverence him, not as 
the greatest, but the best of beings — to be faithful as 
he is faithful — to be holy as he is holy — to be patient, 
and forgiving, and kind, like himself. " I say unto 
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, 
do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
which despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that 
ye may be the children of your Father which is in 
heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 
unjust." Be ye therefore merciful, even as your 
Father which is in heaven is merciful. 

You would do well to keep in view some of your 
fellow-creatures, who feel that it is more blessed to 
give than to receive. Think of a Howard, a Thorn- 
ton, a Eeynolds. But in Him the fatherless findeth 
mercy. God is love. We cannot equal him. But 
it is our happiness to resemble. He that dwelleth in 
love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. "Put on. 



June 16. — Evening. 495 

therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved , bowels 
of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, 
longsuffering : forbearing one another, and forgiving 
one another, if any man have a quarrel against any : 
even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And, above 
all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of 
perfectness." 



JUNE 16.— EVENING. 
"1 was wounded in the house of my friends." Zecii. xiii. 6. 

This seems literally the complaint of a false pro- 
phet, who had been punished and removed from his 
office. We cannot easily perceive the relation between 
the treatment of such a man and the suffering of the 
Saviour. And yet the words both immediately pre- 
ceding and following can scarcely leave a doubt of a 
reference to him. 

And of him the complaint is true in every respect. 
True with regard to the treatment he met with from 
the Jews. He came to his own, and his own received 
him not ; but vilified and scourged him ; crowned him 
with thorns ; and nailed him to the tree. True with 
regard to his treatment from his own Apostles. One 
of them betrayed him with a kiss ; another denied 
him with oaths and cursing ; and all forsook him and 
fled — He looked for some to take pity and there was 
none, and for comforter but he found none. True 
with regard to the professors of his religion in all 
ages. The world is the house of his enemies. There 
his day is profaned, his laws transgressed, his name 
blasphemed, his truth denied, and his followers con- 
temned — There we look for nothing else ; and though 



496 June 16. — Evening. 

we censure and condemn, we feel no surprise. But 
the Church, is the house of his friends ; so he calls 
them ; and it is their honour and privilege to bo such 
■ — jet here, even here, where he only reckons upon 
behaviour becoming the relation, he is often dishon- 
oured and injured — " This <s a lamentation, and shall 
be for a lamentation." 

But what is the conduct by which he is aggrieved ? 
It is negligent conduct — when they disregard the 
means of grace and the institutions of religion. These 
he has established. He has commanded us not to 
forsake the assembling of ourselves together. He 
has promised to come unto us and bless us in all 
places where his Name is recorded. In what then 
can we try him more than by shewing how little we 
regard his authority, or value his presence ? and by 
suffering trifles to keep us from our engagements with 
him that would not detain us from an appointment 
with any of our fellow-creatures? It is selfish con- 
duct — when we cannot deny ourselves, or make any 
sacrifices for the relief of his members, and the sup- 
port and spread of his cause ; though we are often 
praying that his kingdom may come, and that his 
word may have free course and be glorified. It is 
distrustful conduct. Nothing hurts us more than a 
want of confidence, especially after long intimacy and 
tried fidelity. He is truth itself; and loves to see us 
taking him at his word, and depending upon his pro- 
mises as firmer than heaven and earth. Nothing in a 
friend atones for distance and concealment, and our 
learning things not by communication but by event. 
The Lord loves to be consulted ; and when we ven- 
ture to act without taking counsel of him, and bring 
ourselves into difficulties and embarrassments, he may 



June 16. — Evening. 497 

well chide us — " You should have committed your 
way unto me." Hast thou not procured this unto 
thyself? It is timid conduct — when, instead of going 
forth to him without the camp, we are ashamed of 
him and of his words ; when, instead of being bold as 
a lion, we shrink back or turn aside in the path of 
duty, at every intimation of danger. The fear of 
man bringeth a snare. But perfect love casteth out 
fear, It is gloomy conduct — when we walk mourn- 
fully before the Lord, and hang down our heads like 
a bulrush, and sink in the day of adversity. We 
then depreciate and misrepresent his religion, and 
lead people to think it is a course of cheerlessness 
and melancholy. Whereas, by learning in whatsoever 
state we are therewith to be content ; and in every 
thing giving thanks; and rejoicing evermore; we 
speak well of his Name, we recommend his service, 
we invite others to seek him with us. It is unholy 
conduct — when, instead of putting to silence the igno- 
rance of foolish men, and adorning the doctrine of 
(rod our Saviour, and constraining others to glorify 
God by our good works which they behold ; we cause, 
by our miscarriages and falls, the way of truth to be 
evil spoken of, and the adversaries of the Lord to 
blaspheme. Woe to the world because of offences ! 
They harden the wicked ; scandalize the weak ; dis- 
tress the strong ; weaken the hands of his servants ; 
and vex and grieve his Holy Spirit. And though he 
will not cast away his people whom he foreknew, 
their backslidings shall reprove them, and he will 
make them know that it is not only an evil but a bitter 
thing to forsake him. This is the law of the house : 
"If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my 
judgments ; if they break my statutes, and keep not 



498 June 16. — Evening. 

my commandments ; then will I visit their transgres- 
sion with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 
Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly 
take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My 
covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that 
is gone out of my lips." Thus, because Moses and 
Aaron did not sanctify him at the rock, he would not 
suffer them to go over Jordan. And though he put 
away David's sin in the guilt of it, yet the effects of 
it attended him through life. And if we turn from 
his history to his experience, in the fifty -first Psalm, 
we shall see, that, in addition to distressing events 
without, he had anguish enough within to induce him 
ever after to pray, Hold thou me up, and I shall be 
safe. 

But while fear makes us prayerful, let ingenuous- 
ness make us penitent. Let us bewail the ingratitude 
and vileness of our conduct towards such a benefac- 
tor. Let us hear him say — Did not I suffer enough 
while on earth? Must I now not only be crucified 
afresh and put to an open shame among others ; but 
be wounded in the house of my friends? Who when 
rich for thy sake became poor? By whose blood 
wast thou redeemed? In whose righteousness art 
thou accepted? What have I not done for thee? 
And what have I not engaged to do ? Have I not 
promised to guide thee in all thy ways? To keep 
thee in all thy dangers ? To supply all thy wants ? 
To make all things work together for thy good ? And 
to receive thee at death to myself, that where I am 
thou may est be also? — "Is this thy kindness to 
thy Friend ?" 



June 17. — Morning. 499 



JUNE 17.— MORNING. 

" The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in 
their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among 
the heathen." Lam. iv. 20. 

Some commentators suppose ~that these words are 
intended to apply to the Saviour — We see no ground 
for this conclusion. Others imagine that there may 
be a reference to him under the case of Zedekiah. 
However this may be, the passage may be used — not 
to prove any doctrine, but to remind us of several 
things pertaining to the Lord Jesus, and fully esta- 
blished in the Scriptures of Truth — 

Such as his office — " The anointed of the Lord ;" 
the very meaning of the word Messiah in the Old 
Testament, and of Christ in the New. Prophets, 
priests, and kings, were anointed at their consecration. 
He was all these. And therefore he is said to be 
anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. 
Here the term imports majesty ; and he is the King of 
glory ; the King of Saints ; the King of nations — 
" With my holy oil have I anointed him." 

Such is the estimation in which he is holden by his 
subjects — ■" The breath of our nostrils." He is not so 
regarded by others. The world knew him not. The 
Jews received him not. He is now, as to the multi- 
tude, despised and rejected of men. This was the 
case once with his own people. They acknowledge 
it; and look back with shame and sorrow upon a 
period — and with some of them it was a long period, 
during which he had no form or comeliness, nor any 
beauty that they should desire him. But he has been 
revealed in them. And now he appears fairer than 
the children of men, and altogether lovely. Faith 



500 June 17. — Morning. 

makes him precious. He is their righteousness and 
strength ; their glory and joy ; all their salvation and 
all their desire. We may be excessive in our attach- 
ment to a creature ; but we can never think too highly 
of him. It was idolatry in these Jews to call their 
prince the breath of their nostrils ; but Jesus is really 
and absolutely so to us. How dear ! How important ! 
How indispensable ! 

— Such is their expectation from him — " Of whom 
we said, under his shadow we shall live among the 
heathen." The Israelites were literally among the 
heathen, surrounded as they were with the Gentile 
nations. This was also the case with the first Chris- 
tians. Yea, they were not only encompassed by them, 
but intermixed with them. In one house dwelt an 
idolater ; in the next, a worshipper of God. A Pagan 
and a Christian laboured together in the same field, 
or the same manufactory. We should not undervalue 
the outward advantages of Christianity. How much 
more privileged are we, than our missionary brethren ! 
— they live under his shadow — but it is among the 
heathen ! While we have our Sabbaths, and temples, 
and preachers, and our fellow Christians, with whom 
we take sweet counsel together. Though there are 
no heathens among us, nominally, and as to dispensa- 
tion, yet there are some who know nothing doctrin- 
ally ; and many who know nothing spiritually ; many 
who are without God in the world, and who hate and 
oppose, as far as they are allowed, the religion we ex- 
perience. And how often is a righteous soul vexed 
with the filthy conversation of the ungodly, and con- 
strained to sigh, "Woe is me, that I dwell in Mesech !" 
— But whatever be the disadvantages of our condition, 
there is a shadow and his shadow — under which we 



June 17. — Morning. 501 

can live ! A shadow from the heat — not the shadow 
of a summer-cloud only ; but of a great rock in a weary 
land ; the shadow of a tree yielding, not only shade, 
but fruit ; according to the acknowledgement of the 
Church — "I sat down under his shadow with great 
delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." So it is 
said, "They that dwell under his shadow shall return: 
they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine : 
the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." 
His shadow means protection, and all the blessings of 
his empire. The reign of some rulers is like the 
shadow of a vulture over the bird of prey ; or as a 
hurricane over the flooded meadow, and the stripped 
forest. But let the children of Zion be joyful in 
their King. Blessed are all they that put their trust 
in him. 

— Such is his apprehension and suffering — "He was 
taken in their pits." They watched him, and perse- 
cuted him, through life. At length he was betrayed 
into the hands of his enemies ; and they insulted him, 
and crucitied him, and laid him in the grave — Then 
his disciples said, " "We trusted that it had been he 
which should have redeemed Israel" — " The breath of 
our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in 
their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we 
shall live among the heathen." 

— But here correspondence becomes contrast. No 
type, no image, no illustration can do justice to him ; 
and when examined, it will always be found to teach 
more by unlikeness, than by conformity. Zedekiah's 
SLibjects had their hopes disappointed and destroyed 
by his arrest ; and when carried away, and imprisoned 
at Babylon, he could no longer defend or comfort 
them. But Jesus is our hope, notwithstanding his 



502 June 17. — Evening. 

apprehension and death — yea, and in consequence of 
it. He is made perfect through sufferings And 
thus it is that he brings many sons unto glory. When 
he fell into the hands of his enemies, they thought 
they had completely succeeded. But their triumph 
was short. He fell ; but in dying he overcame. And 
then was the judgment of this world, and then was 
the prince of this world cast out. We therefore glory 
in his Cross ; there he becomes the author of eternal 
salvation. He died for us, and rose again ; and be- 
cause he lives we shall live also. 

— Let us, then, live under his shadow : securely live : 
nobly live : joyfully live — not only having life, but 
having it more abundantly. 

— And let us invite others to come, and share with us. 
"In that day shall ye call every man his neighbour, 
under the vine, and under the fig tree." 

JUNE 11.— EVENING. 

"And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran." 

Gen. xxviii. 10. 

Esau's anger was fierce against Jacob for having 
deprived him of his father's blessing. His mother 
therefore advised him to flee to her brother Laban, 
and tarry with him a few days; "until," said she, 
"thy brother's fury tarn away, and he forget that 
which thou hast done to him ;" clearly intimating 
that his concern would be of short duration, and that 
levity would soon extinguish resentment. Whence 
we may learn that carnal men, for such this profane 
person strikingly represents, can easily resign what 
a believer would not part with for a thousand worlds 
— The blessing of his heavenly Father. 



June 17.— Evening. 503 

Dismissed by Isaac with admonition and prayer, 
" Jacob went out from Beer sheba, and went toward 
Haran." Though the simplicity and manners of the 
age rendered travelling less formidable than it appears 
to persons unaccustomed to it now, yet the journey 
must have been very trying to Jacob. The distance 
was great — he was parting with" his parents — he was 
young — he had been tenderly brought up, having 
been the favourite of Eebekah — he had no beast to 
carry him — he had no servant to attend him — no 
guide to direct him — no guard to protect him — no 
companion to cheer him by communion. Thus he 
goes forward solitary and pensive, ruminating upon 
his sad condition, and conflicting with those appre- 
hensions which always attend untried and uncertain 
events. 

And "he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried 
there all night, because the sun was set." The road 
he travelled, if it might be called a road, was in many 
places savage and dreary ; uninhabited of men, and 
infested with wild beasts, which would now be roving 
abroad : " Thou makest darkness, and it is night : 
wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. 
The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their 
meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather them- 
selves together, and lay them down in their dens." 
Jacob's safety therefore prevents his going onward 
till the morning. Here therefore he must repose. 
But what will he do for lodgings ? There is no habi- 
tation near him. And for want of materials he cannot 
pitch a tent. He is therefore obliged to expose his 
body to the moist air of the night : the sky is his 
tester ; the darkness, his curtains ; the earth, his bed : 



504 June 17. — Evening. 

"and he took the stones of that place, and put them 
for his pillow, and lay down in that place to sleep." 

And could he sleep in such a condition? The 
sleep of a labouring man is sweet ; and he does not 
require delicate accommodations. But this was not 
all. He hereby shewed his inward serenity and con- 
fidence. The wicked flee when no man pursueth; 
but the righteous is bold as a lion. The Lord keeps 
in perfect peace the mind that is stayed upon him. 
David, when the rebellion of his son raged around 
him, said, " I will both lay me down in peace, and 
sleep : for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in 
safety." And Peter, the night before his intended 
execution, was sleeping so soundly between the sol- 
diers, that the angel, to awake him, was compelled to 
strike him. How happy in trouble, and how safe in 
jeopardy, are those who have an all-sufficient Jeho- 
vah to watch over them, and keep them by day and 
by night ! 

There cannot be a better evidence of our belonging 
to Grod than the resignation of ourselves to him in a 
way of providence. "How may I know I do so?" 
"We answer, by acquiescing in his dispensations, and 
accommodating yourselves to events. We find no 
murmuring in Jacob, notwithstanding the trying cir- 
cumstances he was in. The hope of an agreeable 
scene for the future reconciled him to his hard con- 
dition for the present. So should it be with us while 
we are travelling, not to Haran, but to heaven ; not 
to the house of a cruel Laban, but to the dwelling of 
a gracious Saviour. He will give us every thing 
necessary for our journey, and a welcome and blessed 
reception at the end of it. It becomes us therefore 



June 17— Evening. 505 

in patience to possess our souls, and to go on our w ay 
rejoicing. 

Jacob sleeps, but his heart waketh. It would be 
unwarrantable to conclude that Jacob had held no 
intercourse with God during his journey. We have 
every reason to suppose that what he had been re- 
flecting upon during the day continued to occupy and 
impress his thoughts at night ; and therefore that God 
took advantage of it in dealing with him. And though 
there was something extraordinary in the affair before 
us, yet we are persuaded that if we were more with 
God when we are awake, we should be more with 
God when we are asleep — for " a dream cometh 
through the multitude of business." 

Jacob dreamed. The generality of dreams are fri- 
volous and vain ; and it is strange that many good 
people should lay such stress upon them as they often 
do. But the circumstances of Jacob's dream are worthy 
our attention ; because they have the signature of God 
upon them. 

Observe what was 

Seen. "Behold a ladder set upon the earth, and 
the top of it reached to heaven." Was this designed 
to intimate the providence of God as observing all 
things, and keeping up a perpetual correspondence 
between heaven and earth ? Bather read the language 
of our Saviour to Kathanael : " Yerily, verily, I say 
unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and 
the angels of God ascending and descending upon the 
Son of man." Here is the true meaning of the ladder. 
And why should this be deemed unlikely ? Was not 
he always the consolation of Israel ? Here were his 
divinity and humanity ; his humiliation, and his ex- 
altation; the one extending to earth, the other to 
22 



506 June 17. — Evening. 

heaven. Here was a figure of the medium of com- 
munications between the upper and the lower world. 
He is the mediator between God and man. Every 
blessing comes to us through his interposition ; and 
therefore the ministry of angels. Hence, " Behold 
the angels of God ascending and descending on it." 
For through him these celestial beings " are all mi- 
nistering spirits, sent forth to minister unto them who 
shall be heirs of salvation." They rejoice when they 
are converted; they encamp round about them in 
their dangers, and deliver them; they attend their 
worshipping assemblies; and at last convey their 
departing spirits into Abraham's bosom. These angels 
did not go up and down the ladder after the manner 
of persons amusing themselves : they ascended to re 
ceive their orders, and descended to execute them 
Though they excel in strength, they do his com 
mandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word 
He says to one, Go, and he goeth ; to another, Come 
and he cometh : and it is his pleasure they regard 
and not the nature of the employment ; and if two of 
them were summoned into his presence, and ordered, 
the one to govern an empire, and the other to shew 
some Hagar a well, they would repair to their posts 
with equal readiness and delight — May his will be 
done on earth as it is done in heaven ! What do 
we read further? "And, behold, the Lord stood 
above it." Standing was a posture of attention — fie 
was looking down to observe his weary-worn pilgrim 
sleeping at the foot of the ladder, and every way 
ready to appear for him. Observe therefore what was 
Heard. God repeats the covenant made with his 
father, and ratifies it to himself, assuring him that the 
country in which he was now reposing should be 



June 17. — Evening. 507 

given to him and his posterity for a possession ; that 
his offspring should be numerous and illustrious; 
and that one of his descendants should prove a bene- 
factor to all mankind : "lam the Lord God of Abra- 
ham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land 
whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy 
seed ; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and 
thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, 
and to the north, and to the south : and in thee and 
in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed." But God is a very present help in trouble ; 
he therefore accommodates his promise to his present 
situation and circumstances : "And, behold, I am 
with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither 
thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land ; 
for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which 
1 have spoken to thee of." He was alone, and God 
engages to be with him — He was exposed, and God 
engages to keep him — He was an exile, and God en- 
gages to bring him home again — And all this issuing 
from faithfulness itself, and more to be relied on than 
the continuance of heaven and earth ! What could 
Jacob desire more ? 

And what was the impression the whole made upon 
him ? " Then Jacob awoke" — Perhaps it was a short 
sleep, but it was long enough. By the sweet dream 
attending it he learned what he was ignorant of be- 
fore he slumbered ; namely, that God was there 
And he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and* 
I knew it not." How strikingly does this ignorance 
represent, first, the ignorance of mankind in general ! 
God is everywhere. He is about their path and their 
lying down — But they do not know, they do not 
consider, they do not realize it. If they did, how 



508 June 18. — Morning 

differently would they speak, and act, and live I 
Secondly, the ignorance of the people of God them- 
selves. How prone are they to forget their privileges 
and principles ; and to imagine they are left of God 
in particular situations and difficulties ! But they 
cannot be left, especially in their afflictions ; for he 
has not only said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
thee — but " I will be with thee in trouble" — " When 
thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; 
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow 
thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt 
not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon 
thee." Yet, after all this, divine manifestations often 
surprise us ; and we wonder, where we should only 
praise. 



JUNE 18.— MOKNING. 

"And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This 
is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." 

Gen. xxviii. 17. 

Such was the exclamation of Jacob after his 
pleasing dream ; when he awoke from sleep and said, 
Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it 
not. 

It shews us that intercourse with God, instead of 
favouring levity of mind, produces the most serious 
impressions. The man that felt no apprehension in 
the evening at lying down in the open air, enveloped 
in darkness and surrounded with danger, is afraid in 
the morning — at what? The thought of a present 
Deity. This was not indeed a slavish terrifying dread, 
like that of Belshazzar, when he saw the handwriting 
upon the wall, when the joints of his loins were loosed, 



June 18. — Morning. 509 

and his knees smote one against another : but it was 
reverence and godly fear. It was such as Peter and 
Isaiah and Job felt, at the manifestation of the Divine 
glory; and such as the angels feel when they veil 
their faces before him. Let this rectify the mistake 
of those who imagine that the doctrines of grace and 
the work of the Spirit lead people to a kind of care- 
less and presumptuous freedom with God. The expe- 
rience of every believer gives the lie to this. The 
nearer he draws to God's seat, and the more inti- 
mately he deals with him, the more he sees of his 
perfections, and the more he feels his own vanity and 
vileness. And the Scripture assures us that God is 
greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, 
and to be had in reverence of all them that are about 
him. 

Wherever God meets with his people, that place 
deserves to be considered as his house. This is con- 
formable to his own language: "The heaven is my 
throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the 
house that ye build unto me ? and where is the place 
of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand 
made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: 
but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor 
and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my 
word." Observe also our Saviour's conversation with 
the woman of Samaria. Her countrymen supposed 
that God must be preferably, if not exclusively wor- 
shipped on Gerizim; while the Jews thought the 
same of Jerusalem: but he reminded her that the 
worship of God did not derive its excellency or ac- 
ceptableness from locality : " Woman, believe me, the 
hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, 
nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. God is a 



510 June 18. — Mokning. 

Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him 
in spirit and in truth." 

God seldom receives any thing but formality from 
those worshippers whose bigoted attachment to any 
particular mode or building leads them to say, " The 
temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the 
temple of the Lord are we." Nothing makes a people 
dear to God but their resemblance of him ; and no- 
thing makes any place sacred but the Divine presence 
— There can be no sanctity in wood and stone — 
"This" says Jacob of the bare ground on which he 
had been lying, having seen and heard God there ; 
11 this is none other than the house of God." Our 
Lord prayed and preached in private dwellings ; in 
the open air; on the side of a mountain ; by the way 
side ; and from a fishing-boat, as well as in the syna- 
gogue and temple. So did his Apostles. It was not 
till the end of the third century that Christians had 
edifices expressly reared for their public worship. 

In three cases this remark may encourage us. First, 
when, by accident, disease, relative affliction, or civil 
engagement, we are detained from the courts of the 
Lord. If the heart be there, and we are unavoidably 
prevented, the Lord will make up the loss, and we 
shall see his power and glory as we have seen him in 
the sanctuary. Secondly, if Providence should fix 
our station where we have little or no advantage from 
the privileges of God's house. John was in the Spirit 
on the Lord's day, though an exile, and far from the 
usual appendages of the Sabbath. "I will be," says 
God, " a little sanctuary to them in the midst of the 
heathen." Thirdly, in the intervals of public worship. 
We cannot be always, or very frequently, in the tern- 



June 18. — Morning. 511 

pie; but we may render every object and every event 
a preacher ; and — 

" Where'er we seek him he is found, 
And every place is holy ground." 

Again. The experience of good men even here 
sometimes approximates them to the world of glory. 
Jacob saw that he was not in heaven ; but in sach 
communion with such manifestations, he thought it 
could not be far off — "This," says he, "is none other 
than the gate of heaven." Carnal men think of heaven 
(if ever they think of it at all) as a place far ofij arid t# 
be reached by ascending up thousands of miles through 
the skies. But, says our Saviour, "the kingdom of 
God is nigh you. The kingdom of heaven is within 
you." And the believer's present acquaintance with 
it and participations of it convince him that heaven is 
a state rather than a place — He has the first-fruits of 
the Spirit, the earnest of inheritance — He has come to 
the heavenly Jerusalem, and has everlasting life. And 
we confine not this to some extraordinary enjoyments 
in his private and public devotional engagements — in 
tribulation we have seen him "joyful in glory;" and 
have heard him " shout aloud upon his bed" of painful 
sickness, and dying anguish. 

Finally, the house of God and the gate of heaven are 
related to each other ; and therefore they are well 
mentioned together. Not that the connexion between 
them is inseparable ; or that all those who attend the 
one will enter the other — Far from it. To some the 
house of God will be the gate of hell, and open to them 
a passage into greater misery ; and the preaching of 
the word will prove the savour of death unto death. 
But this is the effect of perversion or misimprovement. 



512 June 18. — Evening. 

The mWris of grace are designed and adapted to awak- 
en and secure our attention to the things which be- 
long to our peace. In the house of God many of his 
people are converted ; and all are comforted, improved, 
and established. To them the Sabbath is an emblem 
of, and a preparation for, the rest that remains when 
the busy week of life is over. They are here learning 
and loving the song they will sing for ever. The 
temple below only precedes and introduces the temple 
above — Thus the pious Philip Henry would often end 
his " pleasant things," on the evening of the Lord's day, 
by saying — "Well, if this be not heaven, it must be 
the way to it." 

JUNE 18.— EVENING. 

"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to 
Corinth ; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, 
lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla ; (because that Clau- 
dius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome :) and came unto 
them. And beeause he was of the same craft, he abode with them, 
and wrought : for by their occupation they were tentmakers." Acts 
xviii. 1 — 3. 

Aquila and Priscilla were persons of great religious 
excellence. They are often mentioned with commend- 
ation in the Epistles, as well as in the Acts of the 
Apostles — especially when Paul says to the Romans, 
"Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Je- 
sus : who have for my life laid down their own necks : 
unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the 
churches of the Gentiles." They were born in Pontus 
— then they redded in Italy — and were now in business 
at Corinth. Hither they had been driven by an impe- 
rial decree ; and probably thought hard of the measure 
that banished them. But in consequence of this trial 



June 18. — Evening. 513 

the j became acquainted with Paul, and had him for 
their guest, their friend, and companion. And what 
a companion must a man of his talents and grace have 
been ! And what an advantage must they have de- 
rived from his morning and evening devotions ! and 
his example ! and his constant conversation ! Surely 
they would acknowledge, It is good for us that we 
have been afflicted. 

The lives of some have been very changeable : and 
in their removals, contrary to a disposition to enjoy 
a fixed and permanent dwelling, they have been ready 
to murmur and complain. But nothing occurs by 
chance ; and all the ways of the Lord are mercy and 
truth to those that fear him. Let such remember, that 
they know not what designs God has to accommplish by 
events of this nature, either with regard to themselves 
or with regard to their connexions. Let them also 
reflect, that this is not their rest ; and view every pre- 
sent residence as 

"Preliminary to the last retreat." 

In proportion as we look after a better country and 
realize it as our own, all earthly situations will be 
alike indifferent to us — yea, we shall find each of 
them none other than the house of God and the gate 
of Heaven. 

Paul not only lodged with them, but wrought : for 
they were of the same occupation with himself. For 
though he had been educated at the feet of Gamaliel, 
he had been bred to the craft of tentmaking. The 
Jews, whatever was their condition in life, were ac- 
customed to give their sons a calling ; wisely consider- 
ing it a prevention of idleness, a security from tempta- 
tion, and a resource in accidental indigence. Hence, 
22* 



514 J.une ' 18. — Evening. 

of their doctors, one was surnamed Eabbi, the shoe- 
maker ; another, Eabbi, the baker ; another, Eabbi, the 
carpenter. Bicaut says, the Grand Seignor, to whom 
he was an ambassador, was taught to make wooden 
spoons. Is this degrading ? Seneca says, he would 
rather be sick and confined to his bed than be unem- 
ployed. Adam and Eve were placed in the garden to 
dress and to keep it. And our Saviour declined not 
working at his supposed father's business. Paul, the 
chief of the Apostles, was not ashamed of labour. But, 
as a man of taste and learning, he must have been fond 
of reading ; and he desired Timothy to bring him 
his books and parchments. It seems, therefore, strange 
that his friends should not have indulged him with 
leisure and entire freedom for his office also, by ex- 
empting him from manual toil. The workman is 
worthy of his hire ; and this he always claimed as a 
right, contending that they who preach the Gospel 
should live of the Gospel : adding also, that no man 
who warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this 
life. 

But a right is sometimes to be given up ; and there 
is no general rule but allows of exceptions. Priscilla 
and Aquila were not rich, and would lament their 
inability to do more for their illustrious guest. And 
he had an independence of mind, and seeing these 
worthy people themselves labouring to gain a liveli- 
hood, he would not be burdensome, but pay for his 
accommodations. And they are mean souls who will 
endure to be supported by the alms, and especially by 
the industry of others, when their own hands are 
sufficient for them — They who will not work should 
not eat. In a word, Paul knew the infancy of the 
cause, and was acquainted with all the circumstances 



June 19. — Morning. 515 

of the case ; aud acted, we may be assured, with wis- 
dom and prudence. Yet his conduct displayed the 
noblest self-denial and zeal. 

There are two places in which he refers to his 
working. The first shews the degree in which he 
toiled, often — after teaching, sitting up late at night 
— "Ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: 
for we laboured night and day, because we would not 
be chargeable unto you." The second tells us that 
his aim was not only to support himself, but to be 
able to succour others — "Ye yourselves know that 
these hands have ministered to my necessities, and to 
them that were with me." What a soul had this man ! 
And how well could he add — " I have shewed you all 
things, how that so labouring ye ought to support 
the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord 
Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to 



[JUNE 19.— MORNING. 
"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. ii. 1. 

"We may have this grace, and not be strong in it. 
The reality is one thing ; the degree is another, We 
read of weak faith, as well as of strong faith. There 
are lambs in our Shepherd's fold, as well as sheep: 
and in our Father's house there are little children, as 
well as young men. But while there is in religion 
an infancy which is natural and lovely ; there is also 
another which is unlooked for and offensive — it is the 
effect of relapse. It is not of the beginning of the 
Divine life, but of an after period, the Apostle speaks, 
when, reproving the Hebrews, he says, " Ye are 



516 June 19. — Morning. 

become such as have need of milk, and not of strong 
drink." We must not despise the day of small things. 
The Saviour himself does not break the bruised reed, 
nor quench the smoking flax ; but he is concerned to 
bring forth judgment unto victory. And while the 
feebleminded are to be comforted, the slothful are to 
be stimulated; and all are to be kept from " settling 
upon their lees." 

Every thing shews how necessary it is to be strong 
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Your dangers 
require it — These are to be found in all the relations, 
offices, conditions, and circumstances of life. Your 
passions are not wholly mortified — There is the sin 
that yet dwelleth in you — The world lieth in wicked- 
ness ; and you are passing through it — Your adversary, 
the Devil, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. 
How much depends upon one instance of falling! 
And did not Abraham equivocate ? Did not Moses 
speak unadvisedly ? Did not Peter deny his Lord ? 
And what says all this to us ? Be strong in the grace 
that is in Christ Jesus. 

Your duties require it, You have a family ; and 
with your house you are to serve the Lord. You 
have a calling ; and in this you are to abide with God. 
You have the exercises of devotion, in which you are 
to worship God in spirit and in truth. You have to 
walk by faith and not by sight. You are to have your 
conversation in heaven, while every thing conspires to 
keep you down to earth. 

Your usefulness requires it. You are not to live 
to yourselves, but to him that died for you, and rose 
again. You are to look not on your own things, but 
also on the things of others. You are to walk in 
wisdom towards them that are without, and endeavour 



June 19. — Morning. 517 

to win souls. You are to do good, as you have op- 
portunity, unto all men, especially unto those that are 
of the household of faith. 

Your trials require it. Who but must reckon upon 
these in a world like this ? And if you faint in the 
day of adversity, your strength is small. To glorify 
God in the fires, and to recommend religion by its 
supports and comforts, when every thing else fails, 
demands no small share of grace. 

Your consolations require it. Consolations are not 
only delightful, but they are even of practical im- 
portance in religion. They enlarge the heart, and 
enliven zeal, and embolden courage, and wean from 
the world — And you read of a peace that passeth all 
understanding ! and a joy that is unspeakable and full 
of glory ! Yet what do some of you know of these ? 
More grace would bring more evidence ; and raise you 
more above your fears and depressions. "If ye will 
not believe, surely ye shall not be established." 

Death requires it. Other events may, but this must 
occur. It is a melancholy day to those that have no 
God ; and a very serious one to those who have. To 
think of it — to meet it — with triumph — or even with 
confidence — will not this call for more grace than you 
now possess ? And what is the language of all these 
demands? Despond? JSTo — but be strong in the 
grace that is in Christ Jesus. Without him you can 
do nothing : but through his strengthening of you, you 
can do all things. 

Eest not, therefore, in any present attainment. Like 
Paul, forget the things that are behind, and reach 
forth unto those that are before. It is to be lamented 
that we are easily dissatisfied where we ought to be 
content ; and content where we ought to be dissatisfied. 



518 June 19. — Evening. 

In temporal matters we should have our conversation 
without covetousness, and be content with such things 
as we have. But here, alas! we are avariciously 
anxious. And though three feet are enough for us 
in the cradle, and seven in the grave, nothing can 
satisfy us between. But, in spiritual things, with what 
trifling acquisitions are we contented ! Yet here it is 
even our duty to be covetous, to be ambitious! And 
as before us lies an infinite fulness, and we are not 
straitened in our resources, let us not be straitened in 
our desires and expectations : let us ask and receive, 
that our joy may be full 

JUNE 19.— EVENING. 

"I am Alpha and Omega." Key. i. 8. 

Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in 
the Greek alphabet ; and therefore stand for the com. 
mencement and termination of any concern in question 
— Therefore it is here added by way of explanation, 
11 The beginning and the ending." 

It is proper to observe that this is the way in which 
Grod characterizes himself : "Thus saith the Lord the 
king of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts ; I 
am the first and I am the last ; and beside me there is 
no Grod" — This is very decisive. And yet the Lord 
Jesus applies this title to himself, " I am Alpha and 
Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, 
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the 
Almighty" — We are not ignorant of the pretence of 
some, that God the Father is here intended; but 
nothing like evidence supports it ; while the attempt 
itself betrays a concession that if the words were the 
words of our Saviour, his divinity would be established. 



June 19. — Evening. 519 

But read again: "I am Alpha and Omega, the first 
and the last : and, What thou seest write in a book, 
and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia. 
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. 
And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks ; 
and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like 
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to 
the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And 
he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear 
not ; I am the first and the last : I am he that liveth, 
and was dead : and, behold, I am alive for evermore, 
Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death." And 
again : " It is done. I am Alpha and Omega the be- 
ginning and the end. I will give unto him that is 
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." 
•' And behold I come quickly ; and my reward is with 
me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, 
the first and the last." Here he is undeniably the 
speaker ; and equally is he so in our text. Now if he 
had been thus called only in one place, it would have 
been sufficient for our purpose : but the frequency of 
the appropriation of the title shews how necessar}^ it 
is that we always entertain proper apprehensions of 
his greatness. 

But what is the import of the title itself? First, 
it regards his nature, and shews the duration of it. It 
never began, and will never end. Hence in another 
place he is said to be " the same yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever." And Paul holds forth this truth by com- 
paring, or rather contrasting him with the creation — 
He was before the world appeared; and he will be 
when it is no more: "Thou, Lord, in the beginning 



520 June 19.— Evening. 

hast laid the foundation of the earth : and the heavens 
are the works of thine hands : they shall perish : but 
thou remainest ; and they all shall wax old as duth a 
garment ; and as a vesture shalt thou fold thern up, 
and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, 
and thy years shall not fail." It is true that angels, 
and the spirits of just men made perfect, and even 
glorified bodies, will be immortal. But they will not 
continue like him. They are only streams, he is the 
fountain of life. They are branches, he is the vine 
that sustains them. In him they will live, and move, 
and have their being for ever. If he should suspend 
his influence for a moment, they would return to their 
original nothingness — "He only," therefore, "hath 
immortality." 

It also regards his agency — The continuance and 
exclusiveness of it — That he is the commencer and 
completer — That he is all in all — In what? 

Let us look at creation. Modern science has sur- 
prisingly enlarged our conceptions of the magnitude 
and extent of the universe; but, glorious and im- 
mense as it is — we use only the language of Scripture : 
"All things were made by him ; and without him was 
not not anything made that was made." "By him 
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that 
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be 
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: 
all things were created by him, and for him." Thus 
he is the first Cause, and the last End of the whole. 

Let us look at providence. Preservation, if it be 
not a continued creation, requires a continual influence 
— "And he is before all things, and by him all things 
consist." " He upholdeth all things by the word of 
his power." How many creatures are there visible, 



June 19. — Evening. 521 

and what myriads of myriads more, that are invisible, 
in the air, the water, and the earth ! And the eyes of 
all wait upon him. He openeth his hand and satis- 
fieth every living thing. He is the King of kings, and 
the Lord of lords. He raises them up,* and brings 
them down, as he pleases: they fulfil his purposes, 
and will be judged at his tribunal. Empires are 
formed or destroyed at his nod. All their revolutions 
are connected with his cause ; and the kingdom and 
nation that will not serve him shall perish. He is the 
Head over all things to the Church which is his body; 
the fulness of him that filleth all in all. 

Let us look at redemption. He trod the winepress 
alone ; and of the people there were none with him. 
By himself he purged our sins. When he died he 
said, It is finished. And by the one offering up of 
himself, we are assured he hath perfected for ever 
them that are sanctified. And he is not only the 
Alpha and Omega in obtaining eternal redemption for 
us, but in the application of it. He saves us by the 
washing of regeneration and the renewing of the 
Holy Ghost. We live in the Spirit ; we walk in the 
Spirit; and this Spirit is "the Spirit of Christ," and 
derived only from him. The Apostle therefore calls 
him "the author and finisher of our faith." He is 
all that faith sees, lays hold of, relies upon, rejoices 
and glories in. Whose blood but his cleanses us from 
all sin ? Whose righteousness but his can we men- 
tion in our approach to Grod ? In whom alone are we 
free from all condemnation ? He only lives to make 
intercession for us. He only is our advocate with the 
Father. In him all fulness dwells. Neither is there 
salvation in any other ; for there is no other Name 
given under heaven among men whereby we must be 



522 June 20. — Morning. 

saved. He produces also the grace of faith : he main- 
tains it; he perfects it: and therefore the Apostles 
addressed themselves to him, saying, Lord, increase 
our faith. And the same, by a parity of reason, may 
be said of all our religious principles and dispositions. 
He is the author and finisher of our hope; the 
author*and finisher of our patience ; the author and 
finisher of our humility, our peace, our joy. There- 
fore on him all believers alone depend, and to him 
alone they ascribe the praise and glory of all they pos- 
sess. " Of his fulness have all we received, and grace 
for grace." 



JUNE 20.— MORNING. 

"Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy Name." 

Psalm lxi. 5. 

So then, they that fear God have an heritage. All 
of them have not an heritage in the world. And they 
need not be ashamed to own it : they have the honour 
of conformity to their Lord and Saviour, who had 
not where to lay his head. And though they have 
nothing, they yet possess all things — "I know thy 
poverty; but thou art rich." Indeed, even as to tem- 
poral good, they are above others. He blesses their 
bread and their water ; and bread and water, with the 
favour of God, are dainties. And a little that a right- 
eous man hath, is better than the riches of many 
wicked. It is not only sweeter, but safer, and will go 
further. The grace of God will make a little go a 
great way. This we have often seen ; and we should 
have been amazed how some individuals, with their 
very slender means, could make a decent appearance, 



June 20. — Morning. 523 

and pay their way, and have a trifle to give to him 
that needeth — did we not know that the secret of the 
Lord was upon their tabernacle. Godliness also, with 
contentment, is great gain. Contentment is a kind 
of self-sufficiency. It does not allow us to want 
what Providence denies. And who, whatever be his 
affluence, can be more than content ? A man is satis- 
fied with much less in a journey than he has at home. 
Now regeneration makes a man a stranger and a pil- 
grim upon earth: and then reason, as well as faith, 
says to him, 

" Turn, pilgrim, turn ; thy cares forego ; 

All earth-born cares are wrong : 
Man wants but little here below ; 

Nor wants that little long ! " 

But as to spiritual good, they may well say, The 
lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea, I 
have a goodly heritage. For the Lord is the portion 
of their inheritance, and of their cup. His testi- 
monies are their heritage for ever; and they find 
them the rejoicing of their hearts. All the exceeding 
great and precious promises are theirs. And theirs 
is the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and 
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for them. 
Compared with this, what was the heritage of a Jew 
in Canaan? of Adam in Paradise? What is the 
heritage of a crowned worldling? of an angel in 
glory? Yet this is as true as it is wonderful — "This 
is the heritage of the servants of God; and their 
righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." 

For this heritage is not obtained by force, nor by 
purchase, nor by desert ; but by bounty and grace — 
Jt is "given." 

And we may know that we possess it. David 



624 June 20. — Evening. 

speaks without any hesitation — Thou hast given me 
the heritage of those that fear thy jSTame. 

Oh that I could read my title clear! Praise wait- 
eth for thee, God, in Zion. I long to be able to 
praise thee as the health of my countenance, and my 
God. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. And 
shew me a token for good. 

Above all, as — whatever they may doubt or fear — • 
blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after 
righteousness, for they shall be filled ; enable me — if 
I cannot say with confidence, Thou hast given me 
the heritage of those that fear thy Name ; enable me 
to pray, with supreme desire, "Eemember me, 
Lord, with the favor that thou bearest unto thy 
people : visit me with thy salvation ; that I may 
see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in 
the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with 
thine inheritance." 



JUNE 20.— EVENING. 

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and 
take with thee of the elders of Israel ; and thy rod wherewith thou 
smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand 
before thee there upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou shalt smite the 
rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may- 
drink." Exod. xvii. 5, 6. 

We should learn two things from this interposi- 
tion. The one regards the providence of God. The 
other the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

It should teach us to rely on the providence of 
God in our difficulties and straits. The trial was 
great — They pitched in Rephidim, and the people 
had no water to drink. Consider how indispensable 



June 20. — Evening. 525 

this supply was, in a dry place, under a burning sun, 
and with such an immense multitude of men, women, 
children, and cattle ! What lo wings of the herds ! 
What piercing cries of the infants ! What anguish is 
parching thirst ! — God could have led them to a place 
where were wells of water, or have rained down 
showers upon them ; but this would not have been 
so sensible and striking a display of omnipotence as 
bringing water at once by a stroke out of a rock, 
which, as we learn from two other passages of Scrip- 
ture, was a rock of flint; and in such abundant 
effusions. " He brought streams also out of the rock, 
and caused waters to run down like rivers." What 
a foundation for their hope in God ! 

Yet see their unbelief. We should have thought it 
impossible for them, after such a proof of his al- 
mightiness and all-sufficiency, to have questioned 
whether he could deliver or relieve them : " Yet they 
spake against God ; they said, Can God furnish a 
table in the wilderness ? Behold, he smote the rock, 
that the waters gushed out, and the streams over- 
flowed ; can he give bread also ? can he provide 
flesh for his people?" So it was with them — But 
haw was it with Moses, when God had engaged to 
furnish the people with flesh for a month? Moses 
said, "The people, among whom I am, are six hun- 
dred thousand footmen ; and thou hast said, I will 
give them flesh that they may eat a whole month. 
Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to 
suffice them ? or shall all the fish of the sea be ga- 
thered together for them, to suffice them ? And the 
Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed 
short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall 
come to pass unto thee or not." How was it with 



526 Juke 20. — Evening. 

our Lord's own disciples ? They had seen him from 
a most scanty supply feed a vast multitude, so that as 
distributors they had twenty-fold more in their hands 
when they left off than they began with : yet when 
they were in the boat, they began to despond, be- 
cause they had but one loaf! And has not this been 
still more the case with us? Are we not always 
limiting the Holy One of Israel, and ready to say, 
"There is no hope," especially when the usual ex- 
pedients fail us? But we should remember that 
nothing is too hard for the Lord ; and that if he does 
n-jt find a way for Our release or relief, he can furnish 
one. Our extremity is his opportunity. He does 
not prevent darkness ; but to the upright there 
ariseth light in the darkness: and it is often darkest 
before break of day. He turneth the shadow of 
death into the morning. He loves to appear to our 
joy, when all prospect that we should be saved is 
taken away. Let us remember that what is impos- 
sible to us. is easy to him. Who ordered the fish to 
bring Peter the tribute money ? Who multiplied the 
widow's oil and meal? Who brought Elijah bread 
and meat in the morning and in the evening? Who 
turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a 
fountain of waters ? 

It will readily be conceded that we are not to look 
for miracles now. But we are to look for him who 
performed them, who is a very present help in 
trouble, whose hand is not shortened that it cannot 
save, and whose ear is not heavy that it cannot hear. 
He has said, and the Scripture cannot be broken, 
"Thy bread shall be given thee, and thy water shall 
be sure ; " and, "They that seek the Lord shall not 
want any good thing." 



June 21. — Morning. 527 

But his work is perfect, his ways are judgment. 
We do many things to accomplish one purpose ; he 
accomplishes many purposes by one thing. This in- 
terposition therefore not only displa}^ the Providen- 
tial care of Grod, and teaches us to trust in him in all 
difficulties and exigences; but it also furnishes an 
emblem of the Saviour's grace. We love not the 
spiritualizers of the Scripture. They give it mean- 
ings which it never had, finding facts in figures and 
figures in facts, just as it serves their vain fancies, till 
soberminded people are tempted to think that it has 
no certain and fixed sense in it at all. But here we 
follow an inspired guide — "And did all drink the 
same spiritual drink : for they drank of that spiritual 
Rock that followed them : and that Eock was Christ." 



JUNE 21.— MORNING 
" Neither give place to the Devil." Eph. iv. 27. 

If this admonition be connected with the words 
immediately preceding — " Be ye angry and sin not : 
let not the sun go down upon your wrath ;" the 
Apostle intimates that sinful passion arises from the 
influence of the Devil; and that, when it prevails, we 
give up ourselves to his power. And can there be a 
truer specimen of hell than a man in a state of fury 
and revenge? 

But there is nothing in the case that requires us 
to confine the address to the repulsion of wrath. The 
truth is, that Satan has access to us, and in various 
ways is always endeavouring to encroach upon us ; 
and it must be our object to repel him. The image 



628 June 21. — Moening. 

is familiar and striking. If an enemy was trying to 
enter your field, your garden, or your house, you 
would withstand him : for you would see, that as you 
yielded, he advanced. In every successful temptation, 
Satan gains upon us, and takes a position which we 
ought to have kept. 

With the philosophy of this subject we have nothing 
to do, but only with the fact itself. The sacred writers 
as much support the doctrine of diabolical agency as 
of Divine. They make use of the same terms and 
phrases in the one case as in the other. Is Grod said 
to open the eyes of our understanding? Satan is 
said to blind the minds of them that believe not. Is 
Grod said to work in us to will and to do ? Satan is 
the spirit that now worketh in the children of diso- 
bedience. Are Christians filled with the Spirit? 
"Why, says Peter to Ananias, has Satan filled thine 
heart ? 

But while the fact is proved, nothing is said of the 
mode in which his operations are carried on. We 
cannot think, however, that it is always done person- 
ally and immediately. This would involve an im- 
possibility. If he were thus soliciting every individual 
in every part of the earth at the same time, and his 
work is always going on, he must be omnipresent 
and omniscient. But he is the god of this world : and 
having under him all that is in the world, the lust of 
the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life ; 
and having all the errors and the wickedness which 
he has introduced into our region to make use of ; 
and such a depraved nature as ours to work upon — 
he has power enough to employ mediately for all his 
purposes. The bird need not be afraid of the fowler 
if he keeps away from his gun and his snare ; for he 



June 21. — Morning. 529 

is not in much danger from his fingers. How is the 
fish taken? The angler does not wade into the 
water, and seize it in his hand. He does not even 
see his prey : but he reaches it, and secures it, by a 
baited hook at the end of his line, and his rod. Yet 
he catches the fish ; and would do the same if his 
instrument was a mile long. 

There are many reasons why we should not give 
place to the Devil. One is, because his designs are 
always bad. He may transform himself into an angel 
of light. And he may endeavour to introduce his 
evils and mischiefs under specious names : represent- 
ing covetousness as laying up for the children ; and 
pride as dignity ; and revenge as a becoming spirit ; 
and trimming in religion as prudence ; and conformity 
to the world as winning others — Thus we are hard- 
ened through the deceitfulness of sin. But Ave ought 
not to be ignorant of Satan's devices. We read of his 
depths and his wiles. And God in his word tears off 
all his disguises ; and shews us at once that his aim 
is only to ensnare, and enslave, and rob, and degrade, 
and wound, and destroy. He therefore that yields, 
wrongeth his own soul, and loves death. 

Another is, because the more you give way, the 
more advantage he has over you. It will always be 
found much more easy to keep him out than to get 
him out. When the Moors were admitted into Spain, 
they staid there for more than six hundred years, in 
spite of every groan and effort — so much harder is 
expulsion than exclusion.' 

Let us therefore avoid parleying with this enemy. 

He will rise in his demands with every concession. 

He is not to be treated with, but rejected. Let us 

guard against beginnings ; they increase unto more 

23 



530 June 21.— Morning. 

ungodliness. In this down-hill course we easily pro- 
ceed from evil to evil. When a person walks out in 
the morning clean in his apparel, he is cautious how 
he treads ; and the first soil he contracts affects him : 
but the second offends him less ; and the third much 
less still ; till he says, " It matters not now" — and 
heedlessly dashes on. The youth is not profligate at 
once : but evil communications corrupt good manners. 
The first time he complies with a temptation he feels 
a reluctance, and after the crime is committed, his 
conscience smites him. But a degree of this is over- 
come by every subsequent repetition ; and the pro- 
faner of the Sabbath, and the drunkard, and the sen- 
sualist, go boldly on, waxing worse and worse. One 
sin naturally leads to another ; prepares for another ; 
pleads for another; and renders another necessary, 
either by way of concealment or finish. Thus David, 
to hide his adultery, commits murder ; and then im- 
piously ascribes this to the providence of God — " The 
sword smite th all alike" ! 

Another reason is, because you need not yield. 
You are not forced. If the Devil compelled you, he 
would also justify you ; for there can be no guilt 
where there is no liberty. The motives to commit- sin 
can never be so great as the arguments to forbear. 
What can weigh for a moment against the authority 
of an Infinite Being on whom we entirely depend ? 
And what is any indulgence or suffering, compared 
with endless happiness or misery ? Would God have 
enjoined upon us a thing that is impracticable ? And 
is not his grace sufficient for us? And is it not attain- 
able by us ? Is not his promise true ; Ask, and it 
shall be given you ? And, in the history and expe- 
rience of his people in all ages, do we not see proof 



June 21. — Morning. 531 

of this ? Have not multitudes in the same condition, 
exposed to the same perils, feeling the same weak- 
nesses and depravity, been more than conquerors ? 

Finally, resistance is the way to success, and in- 
sures it. Hence, says God, resist the Devil, and he 
will flee from you. Can God be mistaken ? Can he 
deceive ? And does not every one know that persons 
slacken in any course of action, in proportion as they 
want encouragement ? For hope is the mainspring of 
motion. If a beggar be relieved, however slenderly or 
seldom, he will in extremity repair to the door again 
— but not if he be positively and invariably refused. 

Resist, therefore, stedfastly ; and shew that you are 
in earnest and determined. For there is a heartless 
undecided refusal that invites renewed application — 
or at least does not shut the door entirely against im- 
portunity. If Satan cannot look into the heart, he is 
acquainted with the ways in which it shews itself; and 
is sure to know whether there is a latent wandering 
after what is professedly renounced — and so will be 
led to watch his opportunity, and ply his means. 

— But the Apostle adds, Resist him stedfastly — 
in the faith. There is no fighting on a quagmire. 
Faith furnishes the only solid, the only safe, ground 
on which we can contend. Faith clothes us with the 
whole armour of God. Faith connects us with the 
Captain of our salvation, without whom we can do 
nothing ; but through whose strengthening of us we 
can do all things — 

" And Satan trembles when he sees 
The weakest saint upon his knees." 

" A Friend and Helper so Divine 
Doth my weak courage raise : 
He makes the glorious vict'ry mine ; 
And his shall be the praise." 



532 June 21.— Evening. 



JUNE 21.— EVENING. 

"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that 
spiritual Rock that followed them : and that Rock was Christ." 

1 Cob. x. 4. 

How was that Eock Christ? Not really, but 
typically. How was it a spiritual Eock? Not by 
substance, but by signification; not by its quality, 
but by its use. We should not press a metaphor 
beyond its lawful bounds. But the analogy in the 
case before us holds — 

With regard to the Eock itself. A rock is re- 
markable for its solidity, strength, duration, support, 
shelter, and shade; and so is a just and striking 
emblem of Christ, who is so often expressed by the 
name. It holds also 

With regard to the striking. The Eock was 
smitten : and Christ once suffered, the just for the 
unjust. The Eock was smitten publicly in the sight 
of the elders and of the people : and Christ suffered 
at Jerusalem in the presence of a similar multitude. 
The Eock was smitten by Moses : and the Law, of 
which he is the representative, inflicted the death of 
Christ ; he redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
having been made a curse for us. Till the rock was 
thus smitten, it yielded no supplies : and Christ being 
made perfect through suffering, became the author of 
eternal salvation to all that obey him. Who could 
have expected that the smiting of a rock would have 
furnished a flood of living waters ? It was the Lord's 
doing and is marvellous in our eyes. And Christ 
crucified was to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to 
the Greeks foolishness ; but to them which are called, 



June 21. — Evening. 533 

both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and 
the wisdom of God. The foolishness of God is wiser 
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than 
men — Which things the angels desire to look into. It 
also holds 

With regard to the streams. What did these serve 
to express? The blood of Jesus; which "is drink 
indeed" — The doctrines of the Gospel; whose tidings 
to the distressed conscience are like cold water to a 
thirsty soul, and afford a refreshment and satisfaction 
which no philosophy can furnish — The influences of 
the Holy Ghost: according to the promise, "I will 
pour water upon him that is thirsty ; and floods upon 
the dry ground ; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, 
and my blessing upon thine offspring:" and the invita- 
tion, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and 
drink — This spake he of the Spirit, which they that 
believe on him should receive." 

One circumstance must not be overlooked. The 
streams not only relieved their present wants, but 
secured them future supplies ; for it was in these the 
rock followed them in their journeys, so that they 
were constantly refreshed by them. As long as we 
are in the wilderness, our spiritual wants will return : 
but the Saviour will never leave us ; and as our days, 
so shall our strength be. Thus our condition is soft- 
ened ; and we can sometimes sing the Lord's song in 
a strange land. But soon the sun shall not light on 
us, nor any heat; for the Lamb that is in the midst 
of the throne shall feed us, and lead us unto living 
fountains of water. 

Let us read the Old Testament under the extensions 
and applications of the New. It was designed to fur- 
nish shadows of good things to come ; but the body is 
Christ, 



534 June 21. — Evening. 

Let us bless him who was smitten that we might 
drink of the river of his pleasure. The rock in the 
wilderness was smitten unconsciously : but Jesus was 
exceeding sorrowful even unto death : and he knew 
the expensiveness of his interposition on our behalf ; 
yet he more than consented to the condition — he de- 
lighted in the sacrifice. 

"Oh," said David, "Oh that one would give me 
drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which 
is by the gate!" And three of his brave followers 
broke through the garrison of the Philistines, and 
brought him a supply. But, said he, "it is the price 
of blood;" and he was too generous to drink what 
had endangered life in the procuring. Behold how 
they loved him. But what was their love to their 
sovereign, compared with the Saviour's love to us! 
He actually poured out his soul unto death, that we 
might live through him, and with joy draw water out 
of the wells of salvation. This is indeed the price of 
blood, of blood divine ! Yet he is charmed to see us 
partake of the costly privilege ! 

As from the gushings of the rock there was more 
than a sufficiency for all the multitude ; so in Jesus 
there is enough for all, and to spare ; for it hath 
pleased the Father that in him should all fulness 
dwell. 

As all were welcome to drink of the abundance, 
so none are forbidden here. "The Spirit arid the 
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, 
Come. And let him that is athirst come. And 
whosoever will, let him take the water of life 
freely." 

We have met with a painting of this scene. Some 
were represented as pressing close to the fissures to 



June 22. — Morning. 535 

catch the enlivening draught : others, as falling down 
upon their knees to drink of the bubbling flow. 
Fathers and mothers were eager to impart to their 
parched children who stretched out their eager hands 
and. necks. Others were hastening to bear relief to 
the lame, the sick, the dying — It is this eagerness 
for relief and gratification which explains the allusion 
of Moses: "He made him ride on the high places 
of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the 
fields ; and he made him to suck honey out of the 
rock, and oil out of the flinty rock." It was not oil 
or honey ; but it was as good — it tasted as rich as oil 
— as sweet as honey. And did we but thirst as they 
did, such would be our longings after the Saviour: 
so precious would be a participation of his benefits ; 
so eager should we be, not only to obtain supplies 
for ourselves, but to communicate them to others 
also. 

How well do those who refuse these rich and 
blessed streams deserve the place where in vain they 
will call for a drop of water to cool their tongue '! 
This is the condemnation—" Ye would not come unto 
me, that ye might have life." 



JUNE 22.— MORNING. 

"He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must 
needs go through Samaria." John iv. 3, 4. 

For two reasons. Because Samaria lay in his 
passage — and because he had in design the conver- 
sion of this poor woman. We cannot imagine an 
event of such magnitude in itself — for there is joy in 
the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner 



536 June 22. — Morning. 

that repenteth: and attended with such consequences 
as this was — for it involved the salvation also of many 
of the Samaritans — we cannot imagine that such an 
event was accidental. Nothing takes place by chance 
in our most common affairs — and is the conversion of 
a soul for everlasting blessedness a casualty ? 

In the recovery of sinners, the grace of God is 
equally necessary and illustrious. By grace are we 
saved through faith ; and that not of ourselves, it is 
the gift of God : not of works, lest any man should 
boast : for we are his workmanship, created in Christ 
Jesus. And, in the conversion Jesus here accom- 
plished, we have an example of this grace. An ex- 
ample of its freeness ; of its gentleness j of its power ; 
and of its effects. 

Of its freeness — in selecting this wicked wretch, in 
spite of her unworthiness, and without her desire; 
and making her not only the partaker, but the instru- 
ment, of his goodness. 

Of its gentleness — in having recourse to no means of 
alarm ; no violence. No angel appears with a drawn 
sword \ no lightnings flash ; no thunder rolls ; no 
threatening terrifies. All is mercy, all is mildness: 
and he employs circumstances the most natural and 
suitable, to bring her to conviction, and to induce her 
to pray. 

Of its power^ in the victory it gained over the cor- 
ruptions of her heart. If there be a moral disorder 
that seems incurable ; or an evil capable of resisting 
all reasoning and motive ; it is the spirit of impurity. 
But behold here a new creature! She is not only 
pardoned, but renewed ; and the change wrought at 
once I 

Of its effects — She not only believes with the heart. 



June 22. — Morning. 537 

but confesses with the mouth. She is not only en- 
lightened, but inflamed. No sooner has she gained 
good than she is concerned to do good. Personal 
religion becomes social. She cannot for a moment 
keep from others what she has seen and heard herself 
— What benevolence ! What zeal ! What urgency ! 
What fortitude ! " The woman then left her water- 
pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the 
men, Come, see a man which told me all things that 
ever I did: is not this the Christ?"— And what suc- 
cess too ! For they who speak from experience sel- 
dom speak in vain. " Then they went out of the city, 
and came unto him." Some of these might have ac- 
companied her from curiosity; and some from the 
mere contagion of example : but not a few were deeply 
and savingly impressed. "And many of the Samar- 
itans of that city believed on him, for the saying of 
the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I 
did. So, when the Samaritans were come unto him, 
they besought him that he would tarry with them: 
and he abode there two days." 

The sight of this had so affected our Saviour as, it 
would seem, to take away his appetite. He had been 
hungry, as well as thirsty : and the disciples had gone 
away into the city to buy meat. But when they re- 
turned, and prayed him, saying, Master, eat ; he said 
unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 
And when they said one to another, Hath any man 
brought him aught to eat? he said, " My meat is to do 
the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." 
What a repast have I had since you left me ! A poor, 
sinful Samaritaness has been here. And I have man- 
ifested myself to her. And, under the impression, 
she has hastened to inform and invite her neighbours 
23* 



538 June 22. — Evening. 

to come and hear me — and has prevailed ! " Say not 
ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh har- 
vest ?" But see the encouragement you have to scat- 
ter the seeds of Divine truth. " Lift up your eyes, and 
look on the fields" — see the woman and her company 
coming over yonder plain — "for they are white al- 
ready to harvest." Here the success is so immediate, 
that "the sower and the reaper rejoice together" — And 
so it is written: "Behold, the days come, saith the 
Lord, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, 
and the treader of grapes him that soweth seeds ; and 
the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills 
shall melt," 

JUNE 22.— EVENING. 

"Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, 
that Sennacherib king of Assyria came np against all the defenced 
cities of Judah, and took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rab- 
shekeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great 
army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway 
of the fuller's field." Isaiah xxxvi. 1, 2. 

Here was a great danger. The enemy was power- 
ful. He had subdued many other countries. He was 
now invading Judah ; and carrying every thing before 
him. He had already taken every stronghold in his 
way, and was come to the very gate of Jerusalem. 
The Lord frequently does not appear for his servants 
till all hope that they should be saved is taken away. 
Hence it has grown into a proverb, that our extrem- 
ity is God's opportunity — " In the mount it shall be 
seen." 

He does not hinder our sun from going down ; but 
he prevents the darkness we foreboded, and at even- 
ing time it is light ! Thus it was with Hezekiah. 



June 22. — Evening. 539 

Observe under this alarming trial what he felt. " It 
came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he 
rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth." 
So Job, that example of patience, when he had heard 
the successive messengers of woe, " arose, and rent his 
mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the 
ground, and worshipped." A natural hardihood, a 
stoical insensibility, is not patience or submission ; yea, 
it renders the exercise of them impossible. There is 
no patience in bearing what we do not feel, or resig- 
nation in giving up what we do not value. The grace 
of God keeps us from despising the chastening of the 
Lord, as well as from fainting when we are rebuked 
of him ; and afflictions only yield profit to them that 
are exercised thereby. 

Observe also what he did. He betook himself to 
prayer. It was his duty, it was his privilege. It dis- 
tinguished him from men of the world, who have re- 
course to suicide, or dissipation, or creature-assistance 
— God was his refuge and strength, a present help in 
trouble. " He went into the house of the Lord." No 
doubt he retired and poured out his soul before the 
Lord in his closet ; but Grod is known in his palaces 
for a refuge. Hence he also sent a deputation to en- 
gage the supplications of Isaiah the prophet : " And 
they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is 
a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy ; 
for the children are come to the birth, and there is not 
strength to bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God 
will hear the words of Eabshekah, whom the king of 
Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living 
God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy 
God hath heard ; wherefore lift up thy prayer for the 
remnant that is left." This shews the sense he had of 



540 June 22.- — Evening. 

Iris own imperfections ; and his confidence that the fer- 
vent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Nor 
was he disappointed. 

Observe what he gained — a complete deliverance. 
Who ever sought the Lord in vain ? How readily 
does he answer the cries of his people ! What wonders 
has prayer achieved ! Prayer is our best weapon — 
Hezekiah conquered upon his knees. 

The deliverance was not only in answer to prayer, 
but it was foretold. "Isaiah said unto them, Thus 
shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, 
Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, where- 
with the servants of the king of Assyria have blas- 
phemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, 
and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own 
land ; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his 
own land. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning 
the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city 
nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, 
nor cast a bank against it." By announcing a thing 
so improbable, the Lord not only shewed his foreknow- 
ledge, but afforded Hezekiah an immediate ground of 
confidence. He could have done all without promis- 
ing it ; but the word would prove the trial of his 
faith. If he believed it, his fears would be forthwith 
removed, and his mind be kept in perfect peace, being 
stayed upon Grod. 

The deliverance was also founded in a remarkable 
reason. The reason is twofold. First, says he, "I 
will defend the city for mine own sake." The foe has 
been blaspheming me, as if I were one of the gods of 
the heathen, whose worshippers he has conquered, 
weak as they, unable to save those who trust in me. 
But I will display my perfections, and vindicate the 



June 22. — Evening. 541 

' glory of my Name. Accordingly Hezekiah had plead- 
ed this : " Incline thine ear, Lord, and hear ; open 
thine eyes, Lord, and see ; and hear all the words 
of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living 
God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have 
laid waste all the nations, and their countries, and 
have cast their gods into the .fire ; for they were no 
gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone : 
therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, 
O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the 
kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the 
Lord, even thou only." 

Secondly, I will do it " for my servant David's 
sake." How honourable was this to the character of 
the man after his own heart ! A similar allusion was 
often made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. From the 
beginning some were blessed for the sake of others. 
It was to shew God's regard to righteousness ; to en- 
force religion from its relative influence and advanta- 
ges ; and to prepare for a belief in the mediation of 
the Messiah, for whose obedience unto death all the 
families of the earth are blessed. The deliverance 
also was supernaturally accomplished: "Then the 
angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp 
of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five 
thousand : and when they arose early in the morning, 
behold, they were all dead corpses." What a destruc- 
tion was here ! And what an idea does it give us of 
the power of these Messengers of God, who excel in 
strength and do his commandments ! How safe and 
how happy are they who have the Lord of hosts 
on their side 1 If God be for us, who can be against 
us? 

But woe to those who provoke a Being whose word 



542 June 23. — Morning. 

arms every creature against them ! What will it be 
" when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven 
with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking ven- 
geance on them that know not God, and that obey 
not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : when he 
shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be 
admired in all them that believe !" 



JUNE 23.— MORNING. 

" The Lord will give strength unto his people ; the Lord will bless 
his people with peace." Psalm xxix. 11. 

The God of Nature gave David a fine poetical talent. 
And he employed it like a good man, for his own im- 
provement, and the profit of many. It is well to take 
advantage of the excitement of any present feeling ; 
and to give it a religious direction ; according to the 
admonition of the apostle James : Is any afflicted ? let 
him pray. Is any merry ? let him sing psalms. David 
did this ; for he was accustomed to put his sentiment 
into verse, on the occurrence of any interesting or sig- 
nificant event. Many of his psalms took their rise 
from a trouble or a deliverance he had just experienced. 
The thirty-first psalm was written at the dedication of 
his new house. The hundred and fourth was a spring 
meditation. The eighth is a night scene. The nine- 
teenth, a morning piece. The lines before us were 
composed in a thunder storm. 

Thunder is one of the sublimest displays of Deity. 
It generally produces fearfulness and terror. Caligula, 
the emperor, at the hearing of it, would creep into any 
hole or corner. But such a man should reflect, that 
if God has a mind to kill him, he can do it without 



June 23. — Morning. 543 

raising Nature into a storm — his breath is in his nos- 
trils : he is crushed before the moth — " Thine eye is 
upon me, and I am not !" And we should do well to 
think of a more dreadful event. Baxter did this. 
When a storm came on as he was preaching, and the 
congregation was obviously disconcerted and dismayed, 
he paused, and then said, " Men and brethren, we are 
assembled here to prepare for that hour when the 
heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the 
elements shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth also, 
and all the works that are therein, shall be burned 
up." 

All greatness is comparative. David therefore na- 
turally addresses " The mighty" as much as to say to 
them, — Yon are flattered, and feared; but what is 
the greatest of you before Him. ! Think of the Thun- 
derer, and adore. *' Give unto the Lord, ye mighty, 
give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto 
the Lord the glory due unto his Name ; worship the 
Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the 
Lord is upon the waters ; the God of glory thunder- 
eth : the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of 
the Lord is powerful ; the voice of the Lord is full of 
majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; 
yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He 
maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and 
Sirion like a young unicorn. The voice of the Lord 
divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord 
shaketh the wilderness : the Lord shaketh the wilder- 
ness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord maketh the 
hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests." Here let 
the mind review the description ; and we shall see how 
truly and vividly David's imagination marked and 
portrayed the circumstances and effects of the phe- 
nomenon — 



544 Juxe 23.— Moknixg. 

He then leads us from the uproar of Mature to the 
small still voice of grace. He retires with us into the 
sanctuary of God, there to testify the glory of bis 
goodness; and to calm and cheer us with the assu- 
rance of his providential empire over all the commo- 
tions of life, and his attention to the welfare of his 
people : " And in his temple doth every one speak of 
his glory. The Lord sitteth upon the flood ; yea, the 
Lord sitteth King for ever. The Lord will give 
strength unto his people ; the Lord will bless his peo- 
ple with peace." 

Bat this promise, you say, is made to " his people." 
It is. Be not afraid. Perhaps they will not be found 
so unlike yourselves as you imagine. It is here im- 
plied, that they are weak and distressed. They want 
strength and peace. And both these blessings are 
insured. 

Are they by nature without strength ? And have 
they from experience a growing conviction of their 
inability? Yet, with all this sense of weakness, have 
they trials to endure ? duties to perform ? a race to 
run ? a warfare to accomplish ? As their day, so shall 
their strength be. His grace is sufficient for them. 
Let the weak say, I am strong. 

Do they need rest and refreshing? The God of 
peace shall give them peace always by all means. 
Not worldly peace. He has nowhere absolutely en- 
gaged to give this — We say absolutely ; for if it be 
good for them, they shall not want it : for they shall 
want no good thing. But there is a peace as far ex- 
ceeding every other as the soul surpasses the body, 
and eternity exceeds time — the peace of God, which 
passeth all understanding, and which keeps the heart 
and mind through Christ Jesus. This does not de- 



June 23. — Evening. 545 

pend upon outward things. In the world, says the 
Saviour, ye shall have tribulation ; but in me ye shall 
have peace. And hence, as when weak they are strong 
— so, though sorrowful, they are always rejoicing. 

Yet it is only the beginning of it they have here. 
At death they enter into peace fully. Every enemy 
is then vanquished. The din of war is heard no 
more. The dangerous, treacherous, raging, sickly 
sea is crossed — And then they are glad because they 
be quiet. So he bringeth them unto their desired 
haven. 

JUNE 23.— EVENING. 

"Where two or three are gathered together — *' 

Matt, xviii. 20. 

There are circumstances which are not essential to 
the nature, acceptance, and usefulness of divine wor- 
ship. Two of these our Saviour here mentions. 

The first regards place — "Where" — let it be where 
it will — in the sanctuary, or in the private dwelling, 
or in the barn, or in the field — "Where two or three 
are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the 
midst of them." " The hour cometh," says Jesus to the 
woman of Samaria, " when neither in this mountain, 
nor yet at Jerusalem, shall men worship the Father :" 
that is, exclusively. Thus he dwelleth not in temples 
made with hands : but wherever we worship him in 
spirit and in truth, we are accepted of him. As to 
external sanctity, all places are alike to him. It is 
his presence that confers sacredness and dignity. 
And where has this not been enjoyed? When 
Jacob on his journey awoke in the morning, though 
there was no edifice near, he said, " This is none other 
than the house of God, and this is the gate of hea- 



546 June 23. — Evening. 

ven." Oar Lord, in the days of his flesh, not only 
worshipped in the temple, but in the synagogues; 
and preached by the side of the mountain, and the 
way -side, and the sea-side, and on board a barge : 
and he gives proof, now, that he is to be found where- 
ever he is sought. Where the King is, there is the 
Court : but some think more of the place than of the 
king. Their prejudices and bigotry would confine 
his regards. But while they cry, " The temple of 
the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the 
Lord are toe ;" he graciously says, "In all places 
where I record my Name, I will come unto thee, and 
I will bless thee. " 

The second regards number — " Where two or three 
are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the 
midst of them." It was not without design that our 
Lord, instead of a multitude, which* seems imposing 
and striking, specifies such a few. It would rectify 
the mistake of the Jews, who contended that there 
must be always ten persons present at least to give 
efficacy to social prayer. It would encourage his fol- 
lowers both in cases of choice and necessity. Some 
few may be disposed to meet together for prayer, 
reading the Scripture, pious conversation, or to ar- 
range or execute plans of usefulness ; and why may 
they not expect that he will meet with them ? Did 
not he join the two disciples going to Emmaus, and 
made their hearts burn within them ? Let us make 
him our subject, and he will become our companion. 
When two or three fellow-citizens happen to be in 
the same place abroad, they soon hail each other and 
become acquainted: they are sure to meet together, 
and commune concerning the difference between their 
present residence and their own country ; and inquire 



June 28.— Events. 547 

when they heard from home, and when they think of 
returning. How is it that Christians, who are stran- 
gers and sojourners, do not oftener "meet and min- 
gle?" and compare the vanity of this world with the 
worth of their own? and, joyful, as the children of 
Zion, in their King, talk of the' glory of his kingdom, 
and abundantly utter the memory of his great good- 
ness ? 

But there are cases in which only a few can meet 
together. Persecution formerly prevented or dis- 
persed the worshippers ; and only small parties, in 
places of concealment, and in the night, could assem- 
ble — Yet these were distinguished seasons and ser- 
vices. When the Gospel now first enters a town or 
village, it frequently meets with opposition ; and fear 
and shame restrain many from attending. Yet let not 
the day of small things be despised. Some of our 
most flourishing churches arose from very inconsider- 
able beginnings — a few from time to time passed 
along, unnoticed or reproached, to some poor apart- 
ment, where they claimed the Saviour's promise, and 
found it good to be there — And now the little one 
has become a thousand — What has God wrought ! If 
the weather reduces the number, let us not, if possi- 
ble, be absent ourselves — The exertion and self-denial 
will not be in vain — Them that honour him he will 
honour ; and they that despise him will be lightly es- 
teemed. 

This also teaches ministers. Popular excitement is 
pleasing. But multitude is not essential to usefulness. 
A sportsman has fired into a flight of birds and not 
killed one; and he has killed one when he has had 
only one to aim at. When tempted to excuse him- 
self from going, or to neglect preparation because there 



548 June 24.— Morning. 

is such a handful of poor rustics, let the preacher re- 
member the value of a soul — Let him remember that 
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over 
one sinner that repenteth — Let him remember that a 
much greater than himself — the Lord of all, will be 
there — " For where two or three are gathered together 
in his Name, there is he in the midst of them." 



JUNE 24.— MORNING. 
" In my Name." Matt, xviii. 20. 

"We have seen that no stress is to be laid on the cir- 
cumstances of the worship. But it is otherwise with 
the nature of it. The place and the number of the as- 
sembly are nothing: "where" — let it be where it will 
— " two or three" — if there be no more — " are gathered 
together," it is enough — if they are " gathered together 
IN his Name." But this is essential to Christian wor- 
ship. What is the meaning of the requisition ? 

We cannot do it in his Name unless we do it by his 
authority. This import of the phrase is too obvious 
to require proof or exemplification. Jesus is the 
Judge and the King in his Church : his will is made 
known in his word : to this our appeal is to be made 
in all spiritual concerns ; it is the only rule by which 
we are to walk. It matters not who enjoins if he for- 
bids, or who forbids if he enjoins— To the law and to 
the testimony. Nothing is binding on the conscience 
without his sanction : but his followers must say, 
"All the Lord commandeth us we will do" — And be- 
cause he commands it. 

We cannot do it in his Name unless we do it for 
his sake. When a speaker says, "in the name of rea- 



June 24. — Morning. 549 

son and common sense," he means, by the respect 
which it is supposed men are ready to pay to them. 
If, in arguing with a rebellious child, I was to plead 
" in the name of her who bore him," I should be un- 
derstood to mean, by the affection he owed to so dear 
a relation. And when our Lord speaks of our " re- 
ceiving a little child in his Name," he means, from 
regard to himself — or because we are desirous of serv- 
ing and honouring him. He always demands a su- 
preme regard from his disciples. He tells them that 
whoever loves father, or mother, or wife, or child, 
more than himself, is not worthy of him.. And he 
deserves what he requires. And when we are brought 
to know him, we shall feel no reluctance thus to re- 
gard his dear Name. " How much do I owe him ! 
What has he not done for me ! He has made, pre- 
served, redeemed, saved me. When I consider the 
state in which he found me — the condition to which 
he has advanced me — and the awful and expensive 
manner in which he has accomplished my salvation ; 
I feel that I am not my own. Speak, Lord, for thy 
servant heareth. Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
do ?" And does he require us to sanctify his day, to 
repair to his house, to hear his word, to address his 
throne, to approach his table ; we shall not only do 
it, but — it is the nature of love, we shall do it with 
pleasure ; and the duty will be found our privilege. 

We cannot do it in his Name, unless we do it in a 
dependence on Ms mediation. Now there are two 
things which we must rely upon him for. The one is, 
assistance. We can only serve him in strength de- 
rived from him. These are his own words, "Abide 
in me. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 
except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except 



550 June 24.— -Morning. 

ye abide in me : for without me ye can do nothing." 
Oar work is great; and we are weak: but his grace 
is sufficient for us. The service asks the utmost spi- 
rituality ; and we feel every thing but a suitableness 
to it when we engage: but "the preparation of the 
heart, and the answer of the tongue, are from the 
Lord." The supply of his Spirit helpeth our infir- 
mities, and keeps us under our discouragements from 
giving up so poor and defective a course of duty and 
devotion. 

The other is acceptance. We are to come unto 
God by him ; and by him we are to offer up all our 
spiritual sacrifices. If we are accepted, it must be in 
the Beloved, not only as to our persons, but services. 
A Christian feels this. His imperfections are his 
afflictions ; and he is conscious of so many deficiencies, 
that he would have no delight or confidence in draw- 
ing near to God without this hope. If when he 
examines himself, and the sins of his holy things 
appear, he feels relief, it is by looking unto Jesus. 
But when he views the infinite value of his sacrifice, 
the perfection of his obedience, the prevalency of his 
intercession and advocacy; he has humble boldness 
and access with confidence by the faith of him. And 
even originally he could not have been so endeared 
to God as he now is — thus coming in his Name; 
sprinkled with his blood ; and making mention of his 
righteousness only. 

What a difference is there between the language 
of the Scripture concerning Christ, and the sentiments 
entertained of him by some who yet consider them- 
selves to be Christians ! They refer to him so rarely 
and so slenderly, that their hearers may almost be 
considered " as without Christ." But the Scripture 



June 24. — Evening. 551 

tells us that " we are complete in him" — That he "is 
all and in all" — That " whatsoever we do in word or 
deed, we are to do all in the Name of the Lord 

Jesus." 

june 24.— evening. 

"There am I in the midst of them." Matt, xviii. 20. 

A large portion of the Scripture is promissory ; 
and the promises it contains are exceeding great and 
precious. Some of these, as we should naturally ex- 
pect, are designed and adapted to excite and encourage 
us in the exercises of Divine worship. Accordingly 
the Lord said of old, " In all places where I record my 
Name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." 
And if such was his language to Jewish worshippers, 
what says he to Christian assemblies? " Where two 
or three are gathered together in my Name, there 

AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM." 

This cannot be understood of his corporeal presence : 
for, as to this he said, "I am no more in the world;" 
and no more will he be in the world, as to his bodily 
presence, " till he shall appear the second time without 
sin unto salvation." It is also to be distinguished 
from his essential presence; for by this he is every- 
where, and fills heaven and earth. "Whenever his 
presence is spoken of in a way of promise, it intends 
not the perfection of his nature, but a privilege. Thus, 
though he is not far from any one of us, yet it is said, 
" The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken 
heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." It 
is of such a peculiar and gracious presence he here 
speaks. 

And thus he is with all his people. He is with 



552 June 24.— Evening. 

them in their own persons ; with them in the closet ; 
with them in the family — But " the Lord loveth the 
gates of Zion better than all the dwellings of Jacob." 

It is observable, that he does not say what he will 
do there, but only that he is there, in the midst of 
them. This is assurance enough. His presence is all 
his people can need ; for with him is the fountain of 
life. Moses desired nothing more than that his pre- 
sence should go with him. David was emboldened 
by this to look into the valley of the shadow of death — 
"I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." What is 
heaven ? To " be for ever with the Lord." 

Well, when they are gathered together in his Name, 
there he is in the midst of them, as a physician in the 
midst of his disordered patients ; as a father in the midst 
of his family ; as the sun is in the midst of the garden 
in spring ; as the soul is in the body, animating every 
member, and penetrating every particle of the frame. 
There he is, to enliven their devotions, to hear their 
complaints, to relieve their wants, to give them grace 
and glory and to withhold no good thing from them. 
There he is, to pardon the guilty, to enrich the poor, 
to comfort the mourners, to be the father of the father- 
less, and the judge of the widow in his holy habitation. 

Christians ! you are his witnesses. This assurance 
you have often tried ; and it has now become a matter 
of history and experience. There he gave you these 
eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts to feel. You 
know the preacher could not have made you "a new 
creature" — "the excellency of the power was of God" 
— "God was in the midst of them of a truth." There 
you have found him in painful discoveries, which laid 
open the chambers of imagery in the heart ; and made 
you cry, "Behold, I am vile;" "wherefore I abhor 



June 25. — Morning. j 553 

myself, and repent in dust and ashes." There you 
have enjoyed him in the manifestations of his love; 
and have been convinced that they were not the de- 
lusions of fancy, or the ferments of animal nature, by 
their humbling, holy, heavenly results. There he has 
removed your perplexities and doubts ; freed your con- 
science of its galling load ; and spoken many a word 
in season to your weary souls : so that you can now 

say, 

" In every new distress, 

We'll to Lis house repair ; 
We'll think upon his wondrous grace, 
And seek deliverance there." 

And go — always pleading this promise, and saying, 
"Do as thou hast said:" "Fulfil thy word unto thy 
servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope." 
That hope will not, cannot make you ashamed. Your 
expectation is sustained not only by his goodness, but 
also by his truth. You could not have bound him, 
but he has bound himself. He cannot be absent from 
your assembly if you meet in his Name — For he hath 
said, " Where two or three are gathered together in 
my Name, there am I in the midst of them." 



JUNE 25.— MORNING. 

"Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am 
I in the midst of them." Matt, xviii. 20. 

Let me take this blessed assurance, and consider it 

As a demonstration of my Saviour's divinity. Who 

less than God could have given such a promise? He 

does not say, there shall my blessing be, but myself: 

there will I be, but there I am. This necessarily sup- 

24 



554 June 25. — Morning. 

poses omnipresence. How else could he be in so many 
companies and places at once ? How many assemblies 
are there on the Sabbath in the various parts of the 
earth ! And, if there be truth or meaning in this 
promise, he is in every one of them, attending to all 
the peculiarities of individual condition, and affording 
the most suitable relief. Could an angel do this ? But 

Let me consider it as a standard by which to esti- 
mate his condescension and grace. Here I find 
David before me— "When," says he, "I consider 
the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and 
the stars which thou hast ordained; Lord, what is 
man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of 
man that thou visitest him?" So felt also his son 
Solomon at the dedication of the temple. It was a 
glorious scene ; and a common mind would have been 
struck with the splendor of the building, the large- 
ness of the audience, and the sound of such a multi- 
tude of performers : but he, wondering that the Su- 
preme Being should deign to notice it, exclaims, 
"Will God in very deed dwell with men upon the 
earth ? Behold, the heaven, even the heaven of 
heavens cannot contain thee : how much less this 
house which I have built !" See, O my soul, he not 
only allows us to wait upon him, but he waits upon 
us ! Small as our number may be, wherever we meet 
together he is in the midst of us — however poor and 
unworthy — and as often as they choose to assemble ! 
And he has been always doing this — and will con- 
tinue to do it to the end of time! "Who is a God 
like unto thee? " 

Let it serve to bind me to a proper demeanour in 
his house. There is always something impressive in 
a company of human beings, especially if there be in 



June: 25. — Morning. 555 

the midst of them some very distinguished personage, 
such as a hero, a philosopher, a king. " God is greatly 
to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be 
had in reverence of all them that are about him." In 
his presence let me guard against a roving eye ; 
wandering thoughts ; drowsiness ; hypocrisy ; for- 
mality. When I enter the sanctuary, I place myself 
immediately under his view — and he sees me, and 
knows whether my devotion be any thing more than 
a form of godliness or a fair show in the flesh. 

Let it impress me with the importance of social and 
public worship. Some ask, "May we not read and 
pray and meditate at home ? And will not this 
equally answer the purpose with our joining in the 
service of the sanctuary ? " But the judge of all has 
decided this, not only by his command that we for- 
sake not the assembling of ourselves together, but by 
his promise that he is in the midst of us. Indeed 
reason and experience will lead us to the same result. 
In his house, the greater number of the Lord's fol- 
lowers are called by grace ; and they who are not 
born, are nourished there. It is thus excitement and 
allurements are provided, to draw the ignorant and the 
careless together. Nothing tends so much to civilize 
and harmonize men as their frequently uniting in 
such exercises ; and nothing tends so much to keep 
the distinctions of life from excess and abuse. 

Let it also prove a stimulation to the use of the 
means of grace. Some think it is needless for them * 
to go to the sanctuary, because the minister can tell 
them no more than they know already. This is very 
questionable. But allowing that the servant is un 
able to do any thing more for them, is the Master 
too? I do not go only or principally because the 



556 June 25. — Evening. 

preacher is there ; but because the Saviour himself is 
there, whose sufficiency is divine. How is the com- 
pany of the great courted ! If the Lord Jesus was 
now on earth, should I not, if I had an opportunity, 
repair to him ; and deem it a privilege to see him, 
hear him, and hold converse with him ? But I know 
where he now is, waiting to be gracious, and exalted 
to have mercy ; and I have full and easy access to 
him. Let me then suffer nothing to keep me from 
the assembly of his saints. Let not the creature pre- 
vent my serving and enjoying God. If I had an 
engagement with the king, should I not deem it even 
an honour to be able to allege such a reason for my 
refusing a person who called at the appointed hour ? 
If I am indifferent to the Lord's gracious promise on 
earth, what right have I to expect his glorious pre- 
sence in heaven ? But if I now love the habitation of 
his house, and the place where his honour dwelleth 
at death I shall only remove to his temple above, 
where I shall worship him, not with a few, but with 
the general assembly; not with infirmities which 
make me groan, being burdened, but with powers 
equal to the service ; not with long intervals between, 
and the return of worldly care and vexations, but to 
be still praising him. 

JUNE 25.— EVENING. 

"He departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house 
named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to 
the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, 
believed on the Lord with all his house ; and many of the Corin, 
thians hearing believed, and were baptized." Acts xviii. 7, 8. 

This was at Corinth. Here he continued a year 
and six months, assured that the Lord had much 



June 25. — Evening. 557 

people in that city. At first he reasoned in the 
synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews. 
But, upon their opposing and rejecting him, he 
sought another place to teach in. It was not a build- 
ing appropriated to public worship. At this time, 
and long after this, the Christians had no such edifices. 
They assembled wherever they could find an accom- 
modation. The spot was indeed consecrated — not by 
a religious ceremony — but by the presence of Grod, 
and the service itself. The Saviour himself attached 
no holiness to walls or ground : but said, Where — let 
it be where it will — two or three are gathered together 
in my Name, there am I in the midst of them. He 
preached not only in the Temple, and in the syna- 
gogue, but in the private dwelling, and by the way- 
side, and in the mountain, and on board a ship. And 
his apostles followed his example ; and every where 
lifted up holy hands without wrath and doubting. 

The house Paul now entered belonged to a wor- 
shipper of Grod whose name was Justus : and it joined 
hard to the synagogue. The nearer the church, the 
proverb is, the farther from God. This is founded 
on the observation, that what men can easily reach 
and enjoy, they often neglect. And who are they 
that come late to the sanctuary ? Not those from a 
distance ; but they who live near. Who are absent 
in bad weather ? Those who have carriages, or can 
procure vehicles ; not they who come on foot. Who 
most frequently excuse their non-attendance ? The 
strong and healthful ; not the indisposed and weak. 
Who sleep during the service ? Not the poor and 
laborious, who have seldom an hour of repose — but 
the lazy and genteel, who never know what fatigue 
means. 



558 June 25. — Evening. 

It was a trial of principle in this man to open his 
house to Paul. It would create him inconvenience, 
and trouble,' and expense ; and it would draw upon 
him danger and reproach ; as it was an open avowal 
of his adherence to the cause ; and he knew that the 
sect was everywhere spoken against. How many 
professors of religion, yielding to their selfish and 
dastardly reasonings, would have refused! They 
would have said, What will people think of me ? 
What will my relations say ? ^And may not my busi- 
ness suffer ? We are never prepared for a course of 
godliness till we can give up every thing to God, 
especially our paltry reputation, as well as our worldly 
profit. Bunyan, with as much truth as genius, places 
all the pilgrims under the conduct of Mr. Great- 
Heart. It is, to intimate that we shall need courage 
every step of the way to the Shining City. Let us 
consult not with flesh and blood, but only with con- 
viction ; and go forth to the Saviour without the 
camp, bearing his reproach. We shall then not only 
retain peace of mind, but please him whose loving- 
kindness is better than life. Did Obed-edom repent 
of taking in the ark ? The Lord blessed his house, 
and all that pertained to him. Who was ever a loser 
by any thing he did for the cause of God? Who can 
be a loser while He remains true who has said, Them 
that honour me I will honour. They shall prosper 
that love Zion ? 

What Justus did, in accommodating Paul, rewarded 
and dignified him ; and it is now told for a memorial 
of him. How must it have delighted him to see the 
good that was done under his own roof! There is 
joy in the presence of the angels of God over one 
sinner that repenteth. But here is a man of some 



June 26. — Moening. 559 

rank and influence, Crispus, the chief ruler of the 
synagogue, believes — nor is this all. His house too is 
added to the Lord ! Yea, and many of the Corin- 
thians, hearing, believe, and are baptized ! 

Yet Paul baptized but few of them. And when he 
wrote his epistle to these people, he rejoiced in the 
fact. This has puzzled those who look upon the dis- 
pensation of the sacraments, so called, as by far the 
most honourable and sacred part of the ministerial 
function. And in all our churches persons are al- 
lowed to preach before they are authorized to ad- 
minister what are called divine ordinances. And 
many reasons have been alleged to account consist- 
ently with this, for Paul's conduct in thanking God, 
that in alLthe time he staid here, and notwithstanding 
the multitude of converts, he had only baptized 
Crispus and Graius, and the household of Stephanus. 
But the reason he himself assigns overturns an un- 
scriptural notion and practice — He had devolved 
upon others the baptism of the new converts, because, 
says he, Jesus Christ sent me not to baptize — which 
outward form could be dispensed by others of inferior 
station and talent : but — which is by far the most im- 
portant and difficult part of my office — to preach the 
Gospel. 



JUNE 26.— MORNING. 

" The &rk of the Covenant of the Lord w«nt before them in the 
three days' journey, to search out a resting-place for them." 

Numb. x. 33. 

That is, the Lord did this. But the Ark was the 
symbol of his presence, and the seat of his residence ; 
from which, by the cloud, he regulated all their 



560 June 26.— Morning. 

movements. Yet the expression is still metaphorical ; 
and we must not suffer the condescension of his lan- 
guage to injure the glory of his perfections. He feels 
no perplexity. He never deliberates • never examines ; 
never searches : for there is nothing that is not mani- 
fest in his sight. But as men do this, and must do 
this, if they would avoid mistakes, and decide and 
act judiciously; the Lord thus intimates — that his 
wisdom was concerned in all their journeyings; and 
that his people may keep their minds in perfect peace, 
being stayed on him — for, as strangers and pilgrims 
on the earth, he careth for them — they are under his 
guidance — nothing befalls them by chance. All their 
removals, and their rests; all their situations, their 
trials, their comforts; are chosen for them by the 
only wise God their Saviour, who is always on the 
look-out for them — "For the eyes of the Lord run to 
and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself 
strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect 
towards him." 

He not only leads his people in the way that they 
should go, but is concerned to afford them repose, as 
well as direction. Thus, in his promise to Moses, he 
said, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give 
thee rest." Thus, in the review of his goodness, he 
says to Jeremiah, " The people which were left of 
the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, 
when I went to cause him to rest." 

Thus here he searched out for them a resting-place 
— in their journey and — after it. To the former Moses 
refers, when he says, " The Lord your God went in 
the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch 
your tents in" — before they were required to lay them 
entirely aside. Thus, before they reached Canaan, he 



June 26. — Mokning. 561 

led them into many resting-places : in some of which 
they continued only days ; in some, weeks ; in some, 
months; and in a few, even years. It was a fine 
resting-place when they came to Elim, where there 
were twelve wells of water and threescore and ten 
palm-trees — But this was at the beginning of their 
journey, and designed to encourage them. They 
could not look for many stations like this. Each, 
however, which they successively occupied was of 
the Lord's selecting. 

We. may apply this to the temporal residences of 
Christians. How moveable have some of them been ! 
But He has led them from one situation to another : 
and it should be satisfying for them to think — that he 
could find a better resting-place for them than they 
could have chosen* for themselves, for he perfectly 
knows both the place and the persons. Sometimes the 
lines fall to them in agreeable scenes ; and he kindly 
exceeds their hopes. In other cases, the abode is less 
inviting, and even trying. But they must acquiesce, 
without murmuring or complaining, in their Con- 
ductor's disposal — conscious that they are not worthy 
of the least of all his mercies ; and remembering that 
they are not yet come unto " the rest and inheritance 
which the Lord giveth them." 

It will apply also to their spiritual peace and refresh- 
ment in their travels. " Thus saith the Lord, Stand 
ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, 
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall 
find rest for your souls." There are spiritual resting- 
places on this side of heaven. In their acquaintance 
with his throne, his house, his day, his word, the cov- 
enant of peace — here he affords them the shadow of a 
great rock in a weary land. Here he maketh his flock 
24* 



562 Juke 26.— Evening. ■ 

to rest at noon. Here they lie down in green pastures, 
and are fed beside the still waters. 

But the principal resting-place he sought out for 
them was at their journey's end. It was Canaan — 
"In the day I lifted up mine hand unto them, to 
bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that 
I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, 
which is the glory of all lands." 

Yet there is a better country. And this, Christian, 
He is looking out for you ! Whatever you now 
enjoy, your repose is imperfect and interrupted. 
Something, aloud or in whisper, says, Arise, and 
depart hence ; for this is not your rest. 

But there remaineth a rest for the people of God. 
A rest from all toil and temptation. From all sorrow 
and sin. A rest not only in God, but a rest with him. 

" glorious hour ! bless'd abode ! 
I shall be near and like my God : 
And flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasures of my soul." 



JUNE 26.— EVENING. 

"Upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with 
the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest 
thou with her ?" John iv. 21. 

That is, immediately upon the conversation, and 
just as he had said unto her, I that speak unto thee 
am the Messiah. 

Thus their return broke off the conference ; and the 
woman was probably grieved to see the disciples so 
near at hand. Our most interesting interviews in this 
world are often and soon interrupted. It is sweet to 
hold converse with our fellow-Christions and with 



June 26. — Evening. 563 

ministers ; and it is far sweeter still to hold commu- 
nion with the Saviour. There are moments in the 
sanctuary and the closet, when we can say, 

" While such a scene of sacred joys 
Our raptur'd eyes and souls employs, 
Here we could sit, and gaze away 
A long, an everlasting day." 

But not only our sinful distractions, but our lawful 
connexions and businesses, and cares, invade and dis- 
perse our enjoyments ; and make us long after a state 
where these interruptions will be no more. Now we 
have visions, or at best but visits — then we shall be 
for ever with the Lord. 

The disciples were astonished — and the cause of 
their marvelling 'was, that "he talked with the 
woman." Had they an apprehension that she was a 
woman of ill character ? And, like the Pharisees, 
did they suppose that it was incompatible with the 
sanctity of the Messiah to hold any intercourse with 
persons of infamous reputation ? This is not probable. 
She was a stranger to them. Our Lord indeed knew 
her ; but it was by his divine prerogative ; and as yet 
he had no opportunity to speak of her to his disciples. 

It is more likely that their wonder arose from seeing 
him in close and friendly conversation with a woman 
of Samaria ; for the Jews had no dealings with the 
Samaritans. The rancour excluded even the common 
civilities of life. At present the disciples seemed not 
aware of their Lord's design to extend favour to the 
Gentiles; and were but little acquainted with the 
nature of his kingdom — " where there is neither Jew 
nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female ; for we 
are all one in Christ Jesus." 



564 June 26. — Evening. 

Again. Women have not always been properly 
regarded. If they contribute to their own degrada- 
tion, they must blame themselves. It has often been 
asked, why the conversation of even wise men is r with 
women, always vain and trifling? We do not entirely 
admit the fact. If, however, there be truth in the 
supposition, the cause is to be found in females them- 
selves — they must be pleased with such discourse : for 
men will naturally accommodate themselves to their 
taste ; and it is their interest to do so. Let women 
rise and vindicate their sex — many are now doing so : 
let them shew that they consider themselves, and wish 
to be considered, as rational, as well as animal, crea- 
tures ; and as companions, as well as playthings and 
toys, and articles of sense and dress. But at this 
period the sex were treated, and are so still in the 
East, as beings much inferior to men. Now the disci- 
ples knowing that Jesus never trifled in conversation, 
but always spoke superiorly and divinely, were amazed 
to find him discoursing on deep and important sub- 
jects with a poor menial woman, judged incapable of 
understanding them. 

The meanness of the persons to whom he manifested 
himself always scandalized flesh and blood. Have, it 
was asked, any of the rulers believed on him ? But 
this people, who know not the Law, are cursed. Yet 
it was his glory that the poor had the Grospel preached 
unto them ; and that the common people heard him 
gladly. When he rejoiced in spirit, he said, I thank 
thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou 
hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and 
revealed them unto babes. And his Apostle follows 
in the same strain : " For it is written, I will destroy 
the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the 



June 26. — Evening. 565 

understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise ? 
where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of this 
world ? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this 
world? But God hath chosen the foolish things of 
the world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen 
the weak things of the world to confound the things 
which are mighty ; and base things of the world, and 
things which are despised, hath God chosen ; yea, and 
things which are not, to bring to nought things that 
are : that no flesh should glory in his presence." 

But we here see the diffidence and submission of 
the disciples — "Yet no man said, What seekest thou? 
or, Why talkest thou with her ?" Confidence in his 
greatness and rectitude awed them into silence. 
Whence we recommend two things. First, let us 
observe the words of Solomon : " If thou hast thought 
evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth" A good man 
should make conscience of the state of his mind, as 
well as of his speech : but what we cannot always pre- 
vent in thought we may restrain in expression. Words 
are worse than thoughts : they add to them ; they 
shew more of the dominion of evil ; they are more 
injurious to others; and betray ourselves more into 
difficulties. In a multitude of words there wanteth 
not sin. Therefore let us resolve to take heed to our 
ways, that we sin not with our tongue. David prayed, 
"Set a watch, Lord, before my mouth; keep the 
door of my lips." 

Secondly, as the reverence of the disciples induced 
them not to question the propriety of our Lord's con- 
duct — though for the present they could not under- 
stand it — so should we act towards him. He is not 
bound to give account of any of his matters ; and he 
often requires us to walk by faith, and not by sight. 



June 27. — Morning. 

But we know that his work is perfect; his ways are 
judgment. Let us never charge him foolishly, but 
acquiesce in the most mysterious of his dispensations ; 
assured that he has reasons for them which at present 
satisfy him, and will satisfy us when they are finished 
and explained. What we know not now, we shall 
know hereafter. — "Shall not the Judge of all the 
earth do right ?" " Just and true are all thy ways, O 
thou King of saints." 



JUNE 27.— MORNING. 

"Thou hast been a shadow from the heat'' Isa. xxv. 4. 

And what he has been, he is, and will be — the same 
yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 

Heat means evil ; any evil, every evil, from which 
it is desirable to be screened. Heaven is a state— and 
many have reached it — where the sun does not light 
on them, or any heat. But it is otherwise f in this 
world. Here many things affect the mind, as oppressive 
heat does the body : and makes us pant for deliverance 
and repose. The wrath of God — a sense of his fiery 
Law in the conscience — the temptations of Satan — 
the persecutions of wicked and unreasonable men — 
afflictions, public and private, personal and relative — 
Here is the heat — 

Where is the shadow ? Behold me, says the Saviour 
of sinners ; Behold me ! Come unto me, and I will 
give you rest. This is the rest, says God, wherewith 
ye shall cause the weary to rest ; and this is the re- 
freshing. 

But what kind of shadow is He? We read in the 



June 27. — Morning. 567 

Scripture — Of the shadow of a cloud — Of the shadow 
of a tree — Of the shadow of a rock— Of the shadow 
of a tabernacle from the heat. The shadow of a cloud 
in harvest is grateful, but transient. The shadow of 
a tree under which we sit down is delightful : but it 
is limited to a small distance : and the rays frequently 
pierce through the boughs. The shadow of a great 
rock is dense and cool: but it befriends not on every 
side, and covers little from the vertical rays. The 
shadow of a tabernacle, into which we may continually 
resort, and find not only room, but entertainment, is 
the most complete and inviting. All these have some 
truth in their application to him : but none of them 
can do justice to the subject. He is what they imply, 
but more ; and not only more than each of them, but 
more than all of them; and more than all of them 
combined; and more than all of them combined in the 
best estate — -and infinitely more. He is not only perfect, 
but Divine ; and he that dwelleth in the secret place 
of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the 
Almighty. 

Let me leave, then, other shadows. They are all 
inadequate to the wants of the soul ; and, in some way 
or other, will be sure to fail me — yea, whatever else 
I get under for shelter will not only prove vanity, but 
vexation of spirit. 

But let me make use of this shadow from the heat. 
He is not far off. He is accessible. He is easy to 
approach. And it is only by repairing to him that I 
can enjoy the benefit derivable from him. 

And, while believing, I rejoice in him with joy 
unspeakable, let me shew my benevolence, by recom- 
mending him to others. They also are strangers to 
repose. They also want rest unto their souls. And 



June 27. — Evening. 



lie is sufficient to receive, and defend, and succour, and 
bless all. Oh happy period, when the eyes of men, as 
of ail the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord ! 
And when in him all the families of the earth shall be 
blessed ! The Lord hasten it in his time ! 



JUNE 2f.— EVENING. 
"Singing." Ephes. v. 19. 

All believe that hearing is a duty, and that prayer 
is a duty. But some question whether this is the case 
with singing. Now there is something in our very 
structure that seems equal to a proof of the obligation. 
We cannot imagine a faculty was given us which was 
never intended to be used ; especially a faculty from 
which so much pleasure and advantage can be derived 
and communicated. We are fearfully and wonderfully 
made ; and this power of vocal music far surpasses all 
mechanical performance. No instrument, however 
surprising or perfect, can express words ; but, in singing, 
man can speak ; and inform while he delights. How 
shameful is it that such an unrivalled endowment 
should be perverted, or degraded to evil purposes ! 
But we are not to argue against the use of a thing from 
the abuse of it. Let us remember that God is to be 
glorified in our body, as well as in our spirit. Let us 
say, with David, "Awake up. my glory: I will sing 
unto the Lord as long as I live ; I will sing praises to 
my (rod while I have my being." 

Singing is not a ritual duty. It preceded the cere- 
monial law; and when our Saviour had abolished the 
passover, and his own supper had succeeded to it — 
"after supper he sang a hymn." He thereby shewed 



June 27. — Evening. 569 

that such a service belonged to the new state which 
he had introduced, and was to be a part of Christian 
worship. Accordingly the sanction of his example, 
which had the authority of a command, was not dis- 
regarded by his disciples, either in practice or precept. 
Thus the Apostles gft Philippi not only prayed, but 
sang praises in the prison, so that the prisoners heard 
them. And Paul says to the Ephesians ; " Speaking 
to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual 
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to 
the Lord." And James adds, "Is any merry? let him 
sing psalms." 

How should singing be performed ? Sometimes 
when we are alone. David had his "songs in the 
night :" the solitary effusions of pious excitement. In 
the Life of Joseph Alleine we find that he always sung 
in his closet devotion, and which in the morning was 
never later than five o'clock. 

It should prevail where it can be established in 
family worship. He does well, says Henry, who with 
his house prays night and morning; he does better 
who prays and reads the Scriptures ; but he does best 
who prays, and reads, and sings too. I fear this holy 
custom of our forefathers has been for a long time on 
the decline. The observance of it would tend much 
to exclude dulness and formality ; and be far more in- 
teresting to servants and children than long reading 
and lengthened prayer. This should be done at least 
on the Sabbath. An old author tells us he remem- 
bered the time when in numberless houses, at certain 
hours on the Lord's day, singing might be heard as 
you passed, from one end of London to the other. 
The ninety-second Psalm is called "a Song for the 
Sabbath day;" and, says David, "It is a good thing 



570 June 27.— Evening. 

to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto 
thy Name, Most High : to shew forth thy loving- 
kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every 
night;" he here means, peculiarly every Sabbath day 
morning and night. 

But when we enter the courts of the Lord, and en- 
gage in public worship, the command lays hold of us, 
" Serve the Lord with gladness ; and come before his 
presence with singing." Here the singing should be 
congregational. For this purpose few things should 
be introduced which the people cannot soon join in. 
Hence also persons should learn to sing, at least 
decently that when they join they may aid and not 
injure — The singing in family worship would be a 
preparative for public devotion. What can be said 
for those who are well able to help, and yet. seldom 
or never lift up their voice in this divine exercise, 
from sloth, fastidiousness, or pride? Who introduced 
the mode of sitting we know not ; but surely it does 
not appear the most desirable one ; and though the 
posture is not essential to the spirituality of our wor- 
ship, we should be governed, even in the outward acts, 
by what is most preferable, by being most suitable, 
and becoming, and useful, and scriptural. How often 
do we read of the people standing up to praise the 
Lord ! What should we think to see the choir sitting 
while they perform ? And what can the choir think, 
when they see us sitting during the psalmody — but 
that we have nothing to do with it — unless as an enter- 
tainment from them ? 

But what is to be said in recommendation of this 
duty ? It is a very instructive ordinance. How manjr 
important truths are we mutually informed or reminded 
of by it, and which are also rendered peculiarly im- 



June 27. — Evening. 571 

pressive, by the pleasing manner in which they are 
again and again repeated ! — Hence, says the Apostle, 
" Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all 
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in 
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord." 

It is also a very enlivening exercise. Nothing is so 
adapted to excite holy affections. Let any one, in order 
to prove this, read only, and then sing the very same 
words ; and what a difference will he feel in the effects 
of the two ! Nothing tends so much to animate to 
courage and confidence ; and therefore it has always 
been employed in warfare. On a similar principle, 
there never has been a revival of religion, in any 
country, or in any neighbourhood, but has been at- 
tended with a fondness for psalmody. Luther knew 
the force of it, and much and successfully encouraged 
it in the beginning and progress of the Eeformation in 
Germany. 

It is the most social ordinance. In preaching and 
prayer, one leads, and the rest silently join ; but here 
all concur, and stimulate each other. 

To which we may add, it is the most permanent of 
our religious engagements. Our other sacred em- 
ployments will soon cease ; but we shall be still prais- 
ing Him. In heaven our harps will never be hung 
on the willows; our hearts will never be untuned. 
We shall perfectly and for ever sing the song of Moses 
and the Lamb. The work and the joy of heaven are 
more represented by this service than by any thing, 
and by every thing else. 



572 June 28. — Morning. 

june 28.— morning. 

"Whatdoest thou here, Elijah?" 1 Kixgs xix. 13. 

The principle of this question was not ignorance. 
God well knew how, and why, he came there. But he 
would know from Elijah himself; and therefore asks 
him — that, being called upon to account for his con- 
duct, he might be convinced of his folly, and be either 
speechless, or condemned out of his own mouth. We 
may view the inquiry three ways. 

First, as an instance of God's moral observation of 
his creatures. His eyes are upon the ways of man, 
and he pondereth all his goings. Nothing can screen 
us from this inspection. Elijah was in the wilderness, 
and alone ; he had even left his servant behind him — 
but the eye of God followed him. And the eyes of 
the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and 
the good. And let us not imagine that he only looks 
after an extraordinary character, like Elijah. JSTo one 
is too small and inconsiderable to be disregarded by 
him. Every human being is not only his creature, 
but his subject, and responsible to him. The meanest 
slave is great in the sight of Grod, as possessed of a 
soul, and destined for eternity. God has a right to 
know where we are, and what we are doing ; and a 
much greater right than a father or a master has to 
know this, with regard to a child or a servant : for 
we are absolutely his. And he is interested in ob- 
serving our conduct: interested as a judge, who is 
io p. 33 sentence upon our actions;, interested at> a 
friend and benefactor, who would check us when we 
are going astray, or recall us when we have wandered. 
For, 



June 28. — Morning. 573 

Secondly, we may consider it as a reproof given to a 
good man. He ought not to have been here, hiding 
himself from his enemy, and begging that he might 
die ; but should have been engaged in carrying on the 
cause of God in the reformation he had so nobly begun 
— He was therefore blamable. God does not cast him 
off; but he reprehends him. And as many as he loves 
he rebukes and chastens. And faithful are the wounds 
of this Friend. 

And how does he administer this reproof? He 
had all the elements under his control : and he shewed 
Elijah what he could do : "And he said, Go forth, and 
stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, 
the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent 
the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before 
the Lord ; but the Lord was not in the wind : and 
after the wind, an earthquake ; but the Lord was not 
in the earthquake : and after the earthquake, a fire ; 
but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire, a 
still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard 
it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went 
out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." " And, 
behold, there came a voice unto him, and said" — You 
cowardly deserter ? You ungrateful, rebellious wretch ? 
No: but — "What doest thou here, Elijah?" And 
this, "in a small still voice"— a kind of under tone, 
or whisper, as if no one should hear it beside. Here 
was no upbraiding ; nothing to inflame passion : but 
a kind and calm appeal to reason. How forcible ! and 
yet tender! It is thus his gentleness makes us great. 
It is thus he does not break the bruised reed, nor 
quench the smoking flax. It is thus he calls upon us 
to be followers of him, as dear children. If a brother 
be overtaken in a fault, let us not employ the earth- 



574 June 28.— Morning. 

quake, the wind, and the fire ; but the small still voice. 
Let us take him aside. Let us tell him his fault be- 
tween him and us alone. Let us restore such an one 
in the spirit of meekness. Reproof should never be 
given in a passion. It is too much, says an old writer, 
to expect that a sick patient will take physic, not only 
when it is nauseous, but boiling hot. And we know 
who has said, "In meekness, instructing those that 
oppose themselves." " The wrath of man worketh 
not the righteousness of God." 

Thirdly, as a rule by which we may judge ourselves. 
Let us suppose that we heard God addressing us, as 
he did Elijah. How should we answer him ? Could 
we say, I hope I am where Thou wouldst have me to 
be? and doing what Thou wouldst have me to do? 
He does thus inquire. And therefore it behoves us so 
to act as to be able to give a satisfactory account of 
our conduct. 

Let us apply the question to our troubles. How 
came we in these difficulties? Have they befallen us 
in following after God ? or have we drawn them upon 
ourselves by our folly and sin ? 

Let us apply it to our connexions. We are choos- 
ing associates — Are we walking with wise men, or are 
we the companions of fools? We are engaging our- 
selves for life — Are we marrying in the Lord, or un- 
equally yoking ourselves with unbelievers? "What 
doest thou here, Elijah?" 

Let us apply it to our recreations. Are they such 
as conduce to the health of the body ? and accord 
with purity of mind ? or are they amusements and 
dissipations which, if God should call us to account, 
would strike our consciences dumb ? 

Let us apply it to our stations. Are we abiding 



June 28.— Evening. 575 

with God in our own callings ? or are we acting out 
of our proper sphere of duty ? How many have in- 
jured, if not ruined, their usefulness and comfort, by 
improper removals, or striking their tent without the 
cloud ! 

Let us apply it to our religious services. We ought 
to have an aim in coming to his house. Happy they 
who, when they hear the inquiry, What doest thou 
here, Elijah? can say ; Here I am — not from custom 
or curiosity, but to know what the Lord will speak \ 
and to see his power and his glory as I have seen him 
in the sanctuary. 

And let us remember, that a false answer will be 
more than useless. We often assign a reason very 
different from the true one, to an inquiring fellow- 
creature : and him we may deceive. But God is not 
mocked. 

JUNE 28.— EVENING. 
"In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death." 2 Kings xx. 1. 

Sickness is one of the common calamities of our 
nature, from the assailings of which we shall never 
be secure till we enter Immanuel's land. There "the 
inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick ;" for sin, the 
cause of all our maladies, will be removed, and all the 
moral purposes for which Providence employs them 
will be accomplished. And with what bodies shall we 
come ? Bodies no longer requiring the insensibilities 
of sleep; no longer feeling the cravings of animal appe- 
tite ; no longer exposed to accidents ; no longer sus- 
ceptible of disease. How trying and humiliating the 
scene now : for an immortal spirit to stand and nurse 
a crazy fragment of flesh ; to be tethered within a few 



576 June 28. — Evening. 

yards of space ; to suspend its operations and enjoy- 
ments in obedience to a writhing foot, or an aching 
tooth ; to view every thing through a dull and dis- 
tracting medium, and approach God himself through 
the wretched medium of shattered nerves ! Oh what 
will it be to have a body like the Saviour's own glo- 
rious body ; a body far superior to the body of the 
earthly Adam in paradise ; a body meet to be the 
companion of the soul — not a disgrace to the soul, 
but its ornament — not an incumbrance to the soul, 
but its helper ; enlarging its sphere of action and en- 
joyment by relating it again to the material universe, 
to the new heaven, and the new earth wherein dwell- 
eth righteousness ! 

Some have had little sickness. These should admire 
and bless the care that has secured to them so long 
the possession and indulgence of health. Yet let 
them remember the days of darkness, for they may 
be many ; and let them sympathize with the sons and 
daughters of bodily affliction. How many are there 
at this moment drowning with dropsy, burning with 
fever, oppressed with asthma ! Some are made to pos- 
sess months of vanity, and have wearisome nights 
appointed unto them ; others are chastened also with 
pain upon their bed, and the multitude of their bones 
with strong pain, so that their life abhorreth bread, 
and their soul dainty meat. 

Hezekiah's sickness may be viewed three ways. 
First, in connexion with his age — He was between 
thirty and forty. He had reached the perfection of 
manhood; and was in the midst of life — but in the 
midst of life we are in death. Forty is as mortal as 
.fourscore. 

Secondly, in reference to his condition and rank. 



• June 28. — Evening. 577 

He was a king and a mighty monarch. " I have said, 
Ye are gods ; and all of you are children of the Most 
High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of 
the princes." The great and noble too often despise 
those who are below them. But are they not par- 
takers of the same flesh and blood? subject to the 
same infirmities? inheritors of the same mortality? 
Are not they also hastening to the grave, where they 
will say to corruption, thou art my father, and to the 
worm, thou art my mother and my sister ? We are 
prone to envy the great and the affluent. But does a 
man's life consist in the abundance of the things which 
he possesses ? Can honour or titles terrify away, or 
bribe off any of the ills that flesh is heir to ? Can 
they assuage the anguish of disease? Yea, are not 
the upper classes more liable to disorders, and less 
qualified to bear them ? 

Thirdly, with regard to his piety. For he was a 
good man, and the friend of Grod. So was Epaphro- 
ditus ; yet was he sick nigh unto death. So was 
Lazarus ; and therefore the sisters sent to him, say- 
ing, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. And 
his love is almighty. Why then does he not exempt 
the objects of it from every thing disagreeable and 
distressing ? Surely, if by a mere volition we could 
ease the complaints of a beloved connexion, we should 
instantly do it. But his love is as wise as it is power- 
ful. His ways and his thoughts are as much above 
ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. Say 
not therefore, If we belong to him, why are Ave thus 
afflicted ? The correction results from the relation : 
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? You 
are pruned because you are vines. You are put into 
the furnace because vou are gold. He has designs to 
25 



578 June 28. — Evening. 

answer by such dispensations which will more than 
justify them. He intends to wean you from the world ; 
to make you witnesses for himself; to display in you 
the truth of his word, the power of his grace, the 
tenderness of his care. As one whom his mother 
comforteth, so, says he, will I comfort you. -The mother 
disregards none of her offspring; but she arranges 
things with a peculiar view to her poor, weak, sickly 
infant. The knee ; the bosom ; the delicacy ; the 
softest bed ; the breathless movement, is for him. So 
has it been, as Scripture and experience have testified 
in all ages, with Christians : as their sufferings have 
abounded, their consolation has abounded also. Per- 
haps they are never so impressive as by their exercise 
and display of the passive graces ; never glorify God so 
much as in the fires. For this they are concerned ; 
and therefore, when they are led into the chamber of 
sickness, and laid on the bed of languishing, their 
fears are awakened lest they should dishonour their 
profession ; and they pray to be examples of the reality, 
and excellency, and efficacy of their religious princi- 
ples and resources. And he hears and answers them. 
He is with them in trouble. He enables them in 
patience to possess their souls. He fills them with all 
joy and peace in believing. They instruct, invite, 
and encourage others; while their own praise, wonder, 
and confidence, are excited ; and they can sing, 

" Bastards may escape the rod, 
Sunk ia earthly vain delight ; 
But a true-born child of God 

Must not — would not — if he might." 



June 29. — Morning. 579 



JUNE 29.— MORNING. 

"Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not 
afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace : for I am with thee, and no 
man shall set on thee to hurt thee : for I have much people in this 
city." Acts xviii. 9, 10. 

The Lord is a very present help in trouble ; and 
before bis people express their apprehensions, he fore- 
sees them, and effectually provides against them. 

It is obvious Paul was now depressed and discour 
aged. He had nature in him as well as grace. The 
Christian, and even the Apostle, did not destroy the 
man. He had genius ; and not only a great sensibility, 
but a tinge of melancholy is perhaps inseparable from 
this endowment. He was also the subject of bodily 
enervation; and was now worn down, not only by 
constant preaching, but also by working manually day 
and night, to support himself and relieve others. In 
allusion to which he says, in his Letter to these Co- 
rinthians, " I was with you in weakness, and in fear, 
and in much trembling." Yea, he was now, it would 
seem, afraid — of men — of suffering persecution — of 
death. Is this he that said, None of these things move 
me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I 
may finish my course with j oy ? Yes. He then spoke 
sincerely, and according to the frame he was in. But 
what a change do we feel, if the Lord hides his face ; 
or faith fails ; yea, or if there be only a variation in 
the humours of the body, or the state of the weather ! 

The Lord therefore removes his fear by the assur- 
ance that no man should set upon him to hurt him ; 
for " He was with him ; and had much work for him 
to do" — so that even his destination secured him. 



580 June 29. — Morning. 

And see how faithfully and remarkably this was ac- 
complished. For though the place "was so abandoned, 
and he had so many enemies, he continued there a 
year and six months, teaching the word of God among 
them without any molestation. At length a storm 
arose, which tried his confidence in the promise. But 
it issued in the proof that the Saviour in whom he 
trusted was true and righteous altogether. For all 
the Jews in the city made a violent insurrection against 
Paul, and brought him before Gallio the deputy. But 
Gallio refused to take cognizance of the affair, and 
drave them from the judgment-seat. Upon which, 
provoked by his conduct, the Greeks, who had joined 
the Jews in this assault, fell upon Sosihenes, the chief 
ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in sight of the 
bench — but Paul, on whose account the persecution 
was raised, was suffered to escape uninjured, and con- 
tinued his labours a considerable time longer, undis- 
turbed, and at length withdrew from the place in 
peace ! 

— Is not this enough to prove that nothing is too 
hard for the Lord? that he can turn the shadow of 
death into the morning? that our enemies, however 
numerous and malignant, are all under his control? 
and cannot move a hair's breadth beyond the length 
of the chain in which he holds them ? 

Do we not here see, that if we have his promise we 
have enough to establish, strengthen, settle us, what- 
ever our difficulties and dangers may be ? Heaven 
and earth may pass away, but his word cannot fail. 
If a child, even in the dark, feels his father's hand 
grasping his, and hears him say, I am with thee, fear 
not ; he is calmed and confident. Yea, says David, 
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 



June 29. — Evening. 581 

death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me. He 
hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee : 
so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, 
and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. " Yea, 
in all these things we are more than conquerors, 
through him that loved us." 

JUNE 29.— EVENING. 
"Thou wilt recover me." Isaiah xxxviii. 16. 

And he did so. This is not always the case. Sick- 
ness to some, yea to many, is the messenger, the 
forerunner, the beginning of death. And Hezekiah's 
sickness seems to have been in itself mortal, and would 
have issued in his speedy dissolution, but for the 
Divine interposition- 1 — lie " was sick nigh unto death ;" 
and the Lord said unto him, " Set thine house in order, 
for thou shalt die and not live." But he was the sub- 
ject of recovering mercy. Five things are recorded 
in connexion with the event. 

It was in answer to prayer. " Then Hezekiah 
turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the 
Lord, and said, Eemember now, Lord, I beseech 
thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with 
a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in 
thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore." One of the 
designs of affliction is to bring us to God; and by 
prayer we obtain support under it, and sanctification 
by it, and deliverance from it — "Call upon me in the 
day of trouble and I will deliver thee." And did any 
ever seek him in vain ? Did Hezekiah ? So far from 
it, and to shew how quickly prayer reaches God, and 
brings down the blessing, before Isaiah could get 
through the palace-yard the word of the Lord came 



582 June 29. — Evening. 

to him, saying, " Gro and say to Hezekiah, I have 
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears." Thus he 
not only hears and answers prayer, but fulfils the 
word, " Ere they call I will answer, and while they 
speak I will hear." 

The second circumstance was the definite pro- 
longation of his life — "Behold I will add unto thy 
days fifteen years." This was a considerable re- 
prieve. Yet it was nothing more. For so long a 
time he was raised up ; but he was left mortal. The 
sentence, "Dust' thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
return," was only suspended. Have any of you been 
recovered from the bed of sickness ? Remember, you 
are dying creatures still ; and you have no assurance 
of your life. You know not what a day, or an hour, 
may bring forth. The addition of fifteen years would 
not make Hezekiah an old man ; and they would soon 
pass away like a dream. He is the only person who 
was previously informed how long he had to live. 
Doubtless he was concerned to improve the informa- 
tion ; and would often say, " Well, there is another of 
the fifteen years gone, and the remainder is rapidly 
going — So teach me to number my days, that I may 
apply my heart unto wisdom." Yet it was awful for 
him to know the term of life. None of us would 
know it if it were in our power. It is better for our 
comfort to be ignorant ; and it is better for our im- 
provement. As the shade upon the dial is useful as 
well as the sunshine ; so our ignorance may be ren- 
dered profitable — " Watch, for ye know not at what 
hour the Lord doth come." 

The third circumstance is the important blessing 
that accompanied the announcement of his restoration. 
He was pressed by the Assyrian force, which had 



June 29. — Evening. 588 

entered the country, taking all the strongholds in the 
way, and was now besieging Jerusalem — -What would 
fifteen years have been had he passed them in personal 
captivity, or in a subdued and degraded empire, or in 
a state of constant alarm or suspicion ? But God 
perfects the mercy : "And I will deliver thee, and 
this city, out of the hand of the king of Assyria ; and 
I will defend this city." What would it be to 
lengthen out our existence, without our limbs, our 
senses, our reason, our relative comforts ? But 
God giveth liberally. He giveth us richly all things 
to enjoy. 

The fourth circumstance regards the supernatural 
confirmation of it— "And this shall be a sign unto 
thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing 
that he hath spoken ; behold I will bring again the 
shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the 
sun-dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun 
returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone 
down." "Why was this sign given ? Was not the 
word of a faithful God sufficient ? The Lord does 
nothing in vain. He saw the state of Hezekiah's 
mind : he knew that there was something ready to 
faint in his faith and hope : and therefore he passes by 
the infirmity, and indulges his wishes — for he had 
said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the 
house of the Lord?" Thus he stoops, and accom- 
modates himself to the imperfections of his people. 
He does not break the bruised reed, or quench the 
smoking flax. And shall we despise the day of small 
things ? 

The last circumstance is the employment of means 
— " For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of 
figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he 



584 June 29. — Evening. 

shall recover." It is well known that figs have a 
virtue to ripen an imposthume, and bring it to a 
head, that the peccant matter may be removed. But 
in the case before us, from the nature and prevalency 
of the disease, no means would have availed without 
the peculiar agency of God. The fact therefore is 
very instructive. We see that prayer does not super- 
sede the use of means. We also see that the Divine 
assurance does not supersede the use of them : for no 
sooner has Isaiah promised his recovery as a prophet, 
than he prescribes for him as a physician. Yea, the 
very miracuhusness of the cure does not supersede 
the use of them. Miracles were never a waste of 
power ; never intended to make people wonder only, 
or to save them the trouble of doing what they are 
able to do for themselves. Miracles therefore were 
never needlessly multiplied; and even when they 
have been performed there was nothing in the degree 
of them that was unnecessary or superfluous. The 
manna descended from the clouds ; but the people 
were to gather it. The angel opened the prison 
door, and released Peter from his fetters ; — this he 
could not do himself ; but he did not take him up in 
his arms, and carry him to the house of Mary ; but 
said unto him, Follow me ; for he had legs and feet, 
and why should he not employ them ? It is a great 
thing to unite activity and dependence ; to use means, 
and not neglect to trust in God ; and to trust in God, 
and not neglect to use means. "I lead," says Wis- 
dom, " in the midst of the paths of judgment." 



June 30. — Morning. 585 



JUNE 30.— MORNING. 

"The writing of Hezekiah king of Judali, when he had been 
sick, and was recovered from his sickness. Isaiah xxxviii. 9. 

Many persons are afraid of their trials. It would 
be wiser to fear their mercies. They are in more 
danger from their friends than from their enemies ; 
from their comforts than from their crosses ; from 
their health than from their sickness. They often 
desire our prayers when they come into affliction ; 
but they need them most when they are coming out 
of it ; and are returning into scenes of danger and 
temptation again. 

Wicked and worldly men are only anxious to 
escape from their troubles. But it ought to be our 
concern to inquire whether we " come forth as gold" 
— whether we are brought nearer to God, or are left 
farther from him by the things we suffer. Constan- 
tine the Great said, " I marvel that many of my 
subjects, since they became Christians, are worse 
than they were when they were Pagans." Young 
speaks of some as " worse for mending," and "washed 
to fouler stains." And it is lamentable to think how 
many, instead of being improved by their recovery 
from disease, are inj ured by it. They poured out a 
prayer when God's chastening hand was upon them, 
and confessed and resolved, and vowed unto the 
Lord ; but when he relieved and released them, they 
turned again to folly. Many think we are severe in 
our reflections on death -bed changes ; and wonder 
that we think such conversions can never be entirely 
satisfactory to the subjects of them, or their surviving 
friends. Yet of how many ministers have we in- 
25* 



586 June 30. — Morning. 

quired, all of .whom have affirmed, that they never 
knew such converts, when recovered, living accord- 
ing to their promises ; yet had they died, they 
would have entertained a firm hope concerning many 
of them ! And it is probable funeral sermons would 
have been preached for some of them — and how would 
others have been chronicled in the magazines ! Even 
Jacob forgot the vow his soul made when he was in 
trouble, till God said unto him, " Arise, go up to 
Beth-el, and dwell there : and make there an altar 
unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest 
from the face of Esau thy brother." Then, and not 
before, did the backslider say, "Let us arise and go 
up to Beth-el ; and I will make there an altar unto 
Grod, who answered me in the day of my distress, 
and was with me in the way in which I went." 

Hezekiah did better upon his recovery. He wrote 
a song, and had it sung in the temple-service. He 
might, indeed, for this purpose, have availed himself 
of one of David's songs ; and we read that he ap- 
pointed persons to sing the songs of his illustrious 
ancestor in the worship of God. But he composed 
one himself on this occasion, not from vanity, but 
from sentiments of piety. He wrote it in particular 
for three purposes. 

First, to show the importance of the blessing he 
had experienced. Eead his 1 anguage, and you will 
find how much he valued life. This to some may 
seem strange. To a good man, is it not gain to die ? 
When a voyager is entering the desired haven, is he 
so glad and grateful for a wind that blows him back 
ascain to sea ? The fear of death is as much a natural 
principle as hunger or thirst. Every good man, 
though always in a state to die, is not in a frame to 



June 80. — Morning. 587 

die. He may not have the light of God's counte- 
nance, or the assurance of hope. He may be also in- 
fluenced by relative considerations. This was the 
case with Hezekiah. He might have feared for the 
succession ; for he had no offspring at this time ; 
Manasseh was only twelve years old at his death, and 
therefore could not have been born till three years 
after his father's recovery. The enemy was also at 
the gates of the capital. He had also begun a glori- 
ous reformation, and wished to see it carried on. Even 
Paul, though he knew that to depart and to be with 
Christ was far better, yet was more than willing to 
abide in the flesh, for the advantage of the Philippians 
and others. 

Secondly, to excite his gratitude. Hence he so 
vividly recalls all his painful and gloomy feelings in 
his late danger, that he might be the more affected 
with the goodness of his deliverer and benefactor. 
Read the whole chapter — Do as he did. Dwell upon 
every thing that can give a relish, and add an im- 
pression to the blessing you have received ; and be 
ye thankful — and employ your tongues, your pens, 
your lives, in praise of the God of your mercies. 
Did the heathen upon their recovery hang up tablets 
of acknowledgments in the house of their gods ? 
Have Papists built churches and altars to their patron- 
saints ? And will you do nothing for the Lord your 
healer ? Yet so it often is ! The physician is cheer- 
fully rewarded ; the attendants are paid for their 
trouble; friends are thanked for their obliging in- 
quiries — only one Being is overlooked — He who gave 
the physician his skill ; He who rendered the means 
effectual ; He who inspired the inquiring friends with 
all their tenderness. 



588 Juxe 30.— Morning. 

Thirdly, to insure a sense of his obligation in future. 
The Jews soon forgot the works of the Lord, and the 
wonders which he had shewn them. "We are very 
liable to the same evil. But we should say, with 
David, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all 
his benefits ;" and avail ourselves of every assistance 
that can enable us to recover and . preserve the feel- 
ings we had at the time when the Lord appeared for 
us. Thus the Jews established the feast of Purim 
upon their deliverance from the plot of Hainan. Thus 
Samuel raised a stone after his victory, and called it 
Ebenezer. Joseph named his sons Ephraim and 
Manasseh, to remind him of the contrast between his 
former and present condition. And thus Hezekiah 
would compose this writing, that he might compare 
himself with its sentiments, months and years after ; 
and that it might be a pledge of his dedication to 
Grod, and a witness against him if his love should ever 
wax cold — 

And how was it with him ? Can I proceed ? So 
far all is well. He is wise, humble, grateful, resolved. 
But, alas ! how shall we say it? u After this Hezekiah 
rendered not according to the benefit done him ; for 
his heart was lifted up ; therefore wrath came upon 
him and upon all Judah." Lord, what is man ! Who 
is beyond the danger of falling while in this world ? 
On what can we safely rely ? He that trusteth in his 
own heart is a fool. And he is not much better that 
trusts in his own grace. It is not our grace, but his 
grace that is sufficient for us. Let us therefore be 
strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 
Let us not insult over others when they err in doctrine 
or in practice : but tremble for ourselves, and pray, 
Lord, hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. Blessed 
is the man that fearetli always. 



June 30.— Evening. 589 



JUNE 30.— EVENING. 

" There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city 
of God." Ps. xlvi. 4. 

What can this "river" be, but that blessed cove- 
nant to which David himself repaired in the time of 
trouble, and extolled beyond every other resource or 
delight — Although my house be not so with God ; 
yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant, 
ordered in all things, and sure : for this is all my 
salvation and all my desire, although he make it not 
to grow ? 

And what are " the streams" of this river, but the 
outgoings and effects of this divine constitution — The 
blood of Jesus — The influences of the Holy Spirit — 
The doctrines and promises of the Grospel — The ordi- 
nances of religion — And all the means of grace ? 

There are four ways in which the streams of a river 
would gladden the citizens. They will all apply in 
a pre-eminent degree to the case before us. 

The first regards prospect. Nothing can be more 
pleasing or interesting to those who relish the simple 
beauties of nature, than to walk by the side of living 
streams ; to see the fish playing and disappearing ; 
the green weeds waving their long streamers in thp 
water ; the reeds bending and recovering themselves 
again ; the rippling of the shallows ; and the glassy 
reflections of the deeps ; while the bushes and trees 
form a quivering shade on the banks. Here is enough 
to fix the tasteful mind ; and to induce the poet to 
take out his pen, and the painter his pencil. What 
views have Christians by the side of their streams ! 



590 June 30.— Evening. 

How various ! How endearing ! How impressive 
the objects which, strike and occupy their minds! 
" My meditation of him shall be sweet ; I will rejoice 
in the Lord." 

The second regards traffic. It is an unspeakable 
advantage to a place to be accessible by water, as it 
renders commerce not only practicable, but easy and 
extensive. The Humber was the making of Hull. 
The Thames has rendered London so famous. Were 
this stream dried up, or diverted, how would the 
mistress of the nations be humbled and reduced ! It 
is owing to their trade carried on by the means of 
their rivers, that many cities on the Continent have 
united themselves to the ends of the earth, and ac- 
quired such distinction and wealth. And by these 
streams Christians obtain riches for the soul and 
eternity : unsearchable riches ; durable riches, with 
righteousness. It is by these they carry on business 
with the land that is very far off, the merchandise of 
which is better than the merchandise of silver, and 
the gain thereof than fine gold. 

The third regards fertility. Imagine a dry and 
barren land where no water is, and think what happi- 
ness would ensue if springs gushed forth from the 
sands, and meandered through meadows with grass, 
and reeds, and rushes. Lot chose the plain country, 
the vale of Sodom, near Jordan, because it was well 
watered, like the garden of the Lord. Did you never 
read the words of Balaam in describing the blessed- 
ness of Israel? "As the valleys are they spread 
forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of 
lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar 
trees beside the waters." What is a tree planted by 
the rivers of waters, bringing forth fruit in its season, 



June 30. — Evening. 591 

and with never- withering leaves, but a Christian by 
these streams, growing in the divine life; adorned 
with the graces of the Spirit ; and filled with all the 
fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ 
unto the praise and glory of God ? 

The fourth regards supply. What could a city do 
without this precious, all -important fluid? An enemy, 
therefore, always endeavours to cut off the water, to 
compel a place the more suddenly and speedily to 
surrender. Hence the boast of Eab-shakeh; "With 
the sole of my foot I have dried up all the rivers of 
the besieged places." This shall never be the case 
here. Your resources can never fail. Your relief 
can never be cut off. You have always access to the 
God of all grace. And how superior are your sup- 
plies ! How free! % How full! How satisfying! 
" Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever 
drinketh of this water shall thirst again : but whoso- 
ever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall 
never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him 
shall be in him a well of water springing up into ever- 
lasting life." 

Are you asking, Who will shew us any good ? Let 
the subject supply an answer. Oh, there is — there is 
a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of 
God. Forsake the foolish, and live, and go in the 
way of understanding. Leave the world, and enter 
the Church. There — how unlike creatures, who are 
all vanity and vexation of spirit — There you will find 
a Saviour full of grace and truth. Acquaint now thy- 
self with him, and be at peace ; thereby good shall 
come unto thee. 

my soul, am I the subject of this happiness? 
Let me give proof of it. Let me be a witness for 



592 June 30. — Evening. 

God. Let me exemplify his word. Let me convince 
others that there is — a reality — an excellency — a 
blessedness in the religion of Jesus that can set the 
heart at rest, and yield a joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. 

The pleasures of which we have been speaking are 
the pleasures of the way. What will be those of the 

end! 

" If such the sweetness of the streams, 
What must the fountain be, 
Where saints and angels draw their bliss 
Immediately from thee !" 



END OF VOL. II. 



593 



IKPEX TO THE SUBJECTS. 



Book. Ch. Terse. Page. 

Abraham's devotion Genesis 13 1, 3, 4 150 

Adoption Galatians 4 6 318 

Adam questioned Genesis 3 9 483 

Advantages of Revelation Micah 2 7 474 

Angelic succour Luke 22 43 183 

Angry disciples reproved, the Luke 9 52-56 268 

An interest in Christ ascertained .... 2 Corin. 9 15 316 

Anxiety of pretense, the Job 7 20 370 

Arrival at Philippi Acts 16 12 325 

Ascended Saviour, the . ' Luke 24 52-53 220 

Attention to the Scriptures Deut. 32 46 422 

Awful caution, the Hebrews 12 15 359 

Bloody sweat, the Luke 22 44 1 

Bonds of the Covenant, the Ezekiel 20 37 285 

Branches, the John 15 5 396 

Builder, the Zech. 6 13 249 

Burial of Christ, the 1 Cor. 15 4 11 

Care resigned 1 Peter 5 7 113 

Care engaged 1 Peter 5 7 117 

Christ wounded afresh Zech. 13 6 495 

Christ seen of numbers 1 Cor. 15 6 14 

Christ's inheritance Psalm 2 8 355 

Christian joy John 17 13 20 

Christ going up to Jerusalem Luke 9 51 296 

Christ's address to the daughters of Jerusalem Luke 23 27-31 35 

Christians not comfortless John 14 18 99 

Christ pierced John 19 34 39 

Christ praying in his agony Luke 22 44 124 

Christ the life of Christians John 14 19 65 

Christ leaving this world John 13 1 175 

Character of Gospel times Zech. 3 10 68 



594 INDEX. 

Book. Ch. Verse. Page. 

Comfort and tribulation 2 Cor. 1 4 186 

Creature dependence vain Lament. 4 20 88 

Creed of intemperance, the 1 Cor. 15 32 227 

Cripple's adherence, the Acts 3 11 262 

David's resolution . Psalm 61 2, 3 141 

Daniel delivered Daniel 6 23 255 

Day of rejoicing, the Phil. 2 16 323 

Delighting in mercy Micah 7 18 453 

Determined piety Gen. 32 26-27 43 7 

Departure from Egypt Exodus 13 18-19 257 

Dedication of David's house Psalm 30 — 203 

Death and life with Christ Romans 6 8 59 

Death of Christ, the Romans 5 8 8 

Deliverances improved 1 Sam. 17 37 172 

Divine engraving, the Zech. 3 9 106 

Divine revelation, the Gal. 1 16 213 

Divine encouragement 1 Tim. 1 16 143 

Divine upholding Psalm 17 5 271 

Divine benediction Genesis 32 28-29 441 

Divine relief Romans 7 25 275 

Divine Pastor, the Micah 5 4 329 

Divine liberty 2 Cor. 3 17 347 

Divine grace Acts 11 23 410 

Double effusion, the John 19 34 42 

Early rising Mark 1 35 152 

Eucharistic hymn, the Matthew 26 30 28 

Expectation of the Messiah Haggai 2 7 193 

Experience Genesis 30 27 264 

Fiery cloudy pillar, the Exodus 13 21-22 464 

Food blessed, the Luke 24 30 388 

Free Spirit, the 2 Cor. 3 17 343 

Glory that followed, the 1 Peter 111 62 

Glory, the Zech. 6 13 252 

God pacified Ezekiel 16 63 239 

God's workmen Zech. 1 20 283 

Good to be here " Matth. 17 4 303 

Gospel of peace, the Isaiah 57 19 335 

God's offspring Deut. 14 1 375 

God the home of his people Psalm 71 3 398 



INDEX. 595 

Book. Ch. Yerse. Page. 

God's lovingkindness Psalm 26 3 492 

Grace in Christ 2 Tim. 2 1 448 

Grieving the Spirit Ephe. 4 30 351 

Grace Job 23 16 18 

Grand attainment, the Philip. 3 11 54 

Hannah's address to Eli 1 Sam. 1 26-27 281 

Helpers to the Truth 3 John 1 8 132 

Holy One incorruptible, the Psalm 16 10-11 11 

Humble walking Micah 6 8 425 

Ignorance of Christ John 14 9 418 

Important hour, the John 12 21-28 23 

Importunate prayer Luke 11 6 233 

Importance of Christ 1 Cor. 1 30 301 

Intermediate existence 2 Cor. 5 8 166 

Isaac old and dim Genesis 21 1-4 451 

Jacob's wrestling Genesis 32 24 430 

Jacob disjointed Genesis 32 25-26 434 

Jacob's journeying Genesis 28 10 502 

Jewish phraseology explained Zech. 13 3 460 

Joyful close, the Acts 20 24 119 

Joseph of Arimathasa John 19 38 49 

Justification free Eomans 3 24 81 

Justification by faith Gal. 2 16 321 

Knowledge increased 2 Peter 3 18 368 

Learner, the Luke 8 35 161 

Leaven in the meal, the Matt. 13 33 111 

Lilies, the Matt. 6 28 126 

Love to the brethren 1 John 3 16 121 

Looking for God Isaiah 8 11 243 

Many ignorant of Christ John 1 26 319 

Members one of another Romans 12 5 168 

Morning arm, the Isaiah 33 2 420 

Mutual consolation 2 Cor. 1 4 466 

Nature Job 23 16 71 

Nations divided, the Deut. 32 8 486 



596 index. 

Book. Ch. Verse. Page. 

One thing needful, the . John 4 10 224 

Only master, the Matt. 23 8 333 

Our hope 1 Tim. 1 1 405 

Paul's wish Acts 26 29 364 

Passing under the rod . • EzeMel 20 37 280 

Peculiar manifestation John 14 22 200 

Peter remembered Mark 16 7 190 

Pilgrims going forward, the Genesis 32 30-32 443 

Piety and charity Acts 3 2 451 

Prudential advice 1 Tim. 5 23 156 

Prayer Gal. 4 6 381 

Proof of sonship, the John 8 42 138 

Providence . - Job 23 16 74 

Prayer indescribable Psalm 2 8 386 

Rising and resting prayer, the Numbers 10 35, 36 135 

Saviour's apprehension, the John 18 7 3 

Saviour's stipulation, the John 18 8 5 

Saviour's attraction, the Zech. 3 9 85 

Sad defection, the ......... Matthew 26 56 94 

Sanctification Hebrews 2 11 108 

Saints a blessing Zech. 8 13 209 

Scars of honor, the . Luke 24 39 277 

Self-pleasing renounced Romans 15 3 216 

Seeking Christ crucified Matthew 28 5 130 

Shamefulness of sin, the Hosea 9 10 401 

Sins punished and improved Numbers 16 38 469 

Simon bearing the cross after Christ . . . Luke 23 26 32 

Sight of the great Sufferer, the John 19 37 46 

Sinners a curse Zech. 8 13 207 

Solace in trouble Psalm 42 6 416 

Son of consolation, the ...:..'.. Acts 4 36 301 

Source of comfort, the . . 2 Cor. 1 3 91 

Solemn deprecation, the Psalm 51 11 96 

Strong consolation Hebrews 6 18 390 

Strong faith Daniel 3 17-18 298 

Sun of Righteousness, the Malachi 4 2 236 

The seat of prayer 2 Sam. 7 27 231 

The temple Zech. 6 13 246 

The tongue loosed Matthew 9 33 362 



INDEX. 597 

Book. Ch. Yerse. Page. 

The strayed restored 1 Peter 2 25 48& 

The Lord our judge .......... Isaiah 33 22 445 

Too late Luke 19 42 146 

Value of the Saviour, the Lam. 4 20 499 

Vine, the John 15 5- 394 

Vineyard in the wilderness Hosea 2 15 196 

Vows fulfilled 1 Sam. 1 28 292 

Wanderers, the 1 Peter 2 25 102 

Walking with God Genesis 6 9 312 

Water-pot left, the John 4 28 414 

Washing the disciples' feet John 13 4-5 310 

Wishing to go over Jordan Deut. 3 25 339 



599 



TABLE OF TEXTS. 





GENESIS. 


Chap 


Verse. Month 


3 


9 June 14 


6 


9 May 19 


13 


1, 3, 4 April 24 


27 


1-4 June 11 


28 


10 June 17 


28 


17 June 18 


30 


27 May 11 


32 


24 June 6 


32 


25, 6 June 7 


32 


26, 7 June 7 


32 


28, 9 June 8 


32 


30-32 June 8 




EXODUS. 


13 


18, 19 May 10 


13 


21, 2 June 12 


17 


5, 6 June 20 




NUMBERS. 


10 


35,6 April 22 


16 


38 June 13 




DEUTERONOMY 


3 


25 May 24 


14 


1 May 29 


32 


8 June 15 


32 


46 June 5 




1 SAMUEL. 


1 


26, 7 May 15 


1 


28 May 16 


17 


37 April 27 




2 SAMUEL. 



JOB. 



Page 

483 

312 

150 

457 

502 

508 

264 

430 

434 

437 

441 

443 



257 
464 
524 



135 

469 



339 
375 

486 
422 



287 
292 
172 



27 



May 6 231 



Chap. 


Terse. 


Month. 


Page. 


23 


16 


April 11 


71 


23 


16 


April 12 


78 


23 


16 


April 12 


74 


7 


20 


May 28 

PSALMS. 


370 


2 


8 


May 26 


355 


2 


8 


May 30 


386 


16 


10,11 


April 4 


17 


17 


5 


May 12 


271 


26 


3 


June 16 


492 


30 


— 


May 2 


203 


42 


6 


June 4 


416 


51 


11 


April 15 


96 


61 


5 


June 20 


522 


61 


2,3 


April 23 


141 


71 


3 


June 2 
ISAIAH. 


398 


8 


17 


May 8 


243 


33 


2 


June 5 


420 


33 


22 


June 9 


445 


57 


19 


May 23 


336 




LAMENTATIONS. 




4 


20 


April 14 


88 


4 


20 


June 17 
EZEKIEL. 


499 


16 


63 


May 7 


239 


20 


37 


May 14 


280 


20 


37 


May 15 
DANIEL. 


285 


3 


17,18 


May 17 


298 


6 


23 


May 10 


255 



600 



TABLE OF TEXTS. 



HOSEA. 

Chap. Verse. Month. 

2 15 May 1 

9 10 June 2 



13 
17 
23 
26 

26 

28 



MICAH. 



18 



June 13 
May 22 
June 6 
June 10 



HAGGAL 
"7 April 30 



20 



ZECARIAH. 

May 14 
April 13 
April 11 
April 11 
May 8 
May 9 
May 9 
May 3. 
May 2 
June 11 
June 16 



MALACHI. 
2 May 7 



28 

33 

33 

4 

8 

30 

06 

5 



MATTHEW. 

April 20 
May 27 
April 18 
May 18 
May 23 
April 5 
April 15 
April 21 



MARK. 

.35 April 25 

7 April 30 



LUKE. 



8 35 

9 51 
9 52-6 



April 26 
May 16 
May 12 



Paee. 

196 

401 



474 
329 
425 
453 



193 



283 
85 
106 
68 
246 
252 
249 
209 
207 
460 
495 



236 



126 
363 
111 
303 
333 
28 
94 
130 



152 
190 



161 
296 
268 



Chap. Verse. 
11 5-10 



19 


42 


22 


43 


22 


44 


22 


44 


23 


26 



23 27-31 

24 30 
24 39 
24 52-3 



1 26 
4 10 
4 28 
8 42 

12 27, 8 

1 



4,5 

18 

9 

19 

22 

5 

5 

13 

7 

8 

34 

34 

37 

38 



3 


2 


3 


11 


4 


36 


11 


23 


16 


12 


18 1, 


2,3 


20 


24 


26 


29 



Month. 
May 6 
April 24 
April 29 
April 1 
April 20 
April 6 
April 6 
May 31 
May 13 
May 4 



JOHN. 



May 20 
May 5 
June 4 

April 22 
April 5 
April 28 
May 19 
April 16 
June 14 
April 10 
May 1 
June 1 
June 1 
April 
April 



4 

1 

April 2 

7 

7 



April 
April 
April 
April 8 



ACTS. 



June 10 
May 11 
May 17 
June 3 

May 21 
June 18 
April 28 

May 27 



ROMANS. 



24 



7 25 
12 5 

15 3 



April 13 
April 2 
April 9 
May 13 
April 27 
May 4 



Page. 

233 

146 

183 

1 

124 

32 

35 
388 
277 
220 



319 

224 

414 

138 

23 

175 

309 

99 

478 

65 

200 

394 

396 

20 

3 

5 

42 

39 

46 

49 



451 
262 
301 
410 
325 
512 
179 
364 



81 
8 

59 
275 
169 
216 



TABLE OF TEXTS. 



601 



1 CORINTHIANS. 



Chap. 

1 

15 

15 

15 



Terse. 

30 

4 

6 

32 



Month. 
May 18 
April 3 
April 3 
May 5 



2 CORINTHIANS. 



April 14 
June 12 
April 29 
May 24 
May 25 
April 26 
May 20 



OALATIANS. 

16 
16 

6 

6 



EPHESIANS. 

4 27 June 21 
4 30 May 25 



PHILIPPIANS. 
16 May 21 



Page. 

306 
11 
14 

227 



91 
466 
186 
343 
347 
166 
317 



May 


3 


213 


May 


22 


327 


May 


29 


378 


May 


30 


381 



11 



April 9 



527 
351 



323 
54 





1 


TIMOTHY. 




Chap. 
1 
1 


Yerse. 
16 
1 


Month. 
April 23 
June 3 


Page. 
143 

405 


5 


23 


April 25 


156 




2 


TIMOTHY. 




2 


1 


June 19 


515 


2 


1 


June 9 


448 




HEBREWS. 




2 

6 

12 


11 
18 
15 


April 17 
May 31 
May 26 

1 PETER, 


108 
390 
359 


1 
2 
2 


11 
25 
25 


April 10 
April 16 
June 15 


62 

102 
489 


5 

5 


7 
7 


April 18 
April 19 

2 PETER. 


113 
117 


3 


18 


May 28 
1 JOHN. 


368 


3 


16 


April 19 
3 JOHN. 


121 


1 


8 


April 21 


132 




REVELATION. 




1 


8 


June 19 


518 






























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